The True Dark Swan Rises
by Burrito Swan
Summary: Killian Jones is bleeding out right in front of her. Emma Swan must make a split-second decision. Does she ignore her better judgement and save the man she loves, or let him die to save everyone else? [Season 5A Canon Divergence (canon up to flashbacks in "Birth"); obvious spoiler-alert for season five; currently rated T]
1. Birth

_**Rating:**_ T

 _ **Pairing:** _ None in particular; plenty of CaptainSwan, some OutlawQueen, a sprinkle of Snowing, a teaspoon of Rumbelle (later chapters), and a bit of SwanQueen friendship here and there.

 _ **Summary:**_ Killian Jones is bleeding out right in front of her. Emma Swan must make a split-second decision. Does she ignore her better judgement and save the man she loves, or let him die to save everyone else.

 _ **Details:**_ This is a canon divergence that occurs during the events shown in flashbacks in 5x08 ("Birth") where Emma turns Killian into a Dark One to save his life. However, this time, her family and Killian are able to convince her to not turn him into a Dark One and instead let him die. Things happen as they originally did—Emma getting the Promethean Flame from Nimue with the help of Merlin; Killian and her family trying to steal back Excalibur from Merlin, only to get kidnapped; Killian getting cut by Excalibur; Emma lighting the flame with the help of Killian; etc.—until Emma is about to put the sword back together in Granny's, and Killian's neck begins to bleed out.

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ I do not own any characters in the story below. All rights belong to Once Upon a Time, ABC, and Disney.

* * *

 **CHAPTER ONE – Birth**

 **GRANNY'S, CAMELOT - PRESENT TIME**

 **EMMA'S POV**

Emma stood in Granny's in Camelot, surrounded by Mary Margaret, David, Henry, Killian, Regina, Robin, Belle, Merlin, Granny, Leroy, and Doc. She stared at Excalibur and the Dark One's Dagger. It sounded as though they were whispering to each other, calling to one another. There was a whisper in her head telling her not to do this, that she would regret it, but she ignored it.

"Are you ready?" She was pulled from her thoughts by Merlin's question.

"Yes," she responded.

"Then it's time," he said with a slight smile, stepping towards the table to open up the box containing the Promethean Flame. "To destroy the darkness once and for all."

She looked up at Killian, who smiled and gave her a reassuring nod. She was so glad to have someone like Killian, someone who loved her unconditionally, just as she loved him. She smiled back, and concentrated hard. She used her hands to draw a flame from the amber and light it in the air, before picking up the two blades and holding them up to the light. Her concentration was interrupted by a thump. She turned her head to find Killian lying on the floor, clutching his neck.

"Killian?" Emma asked, full of concern. "No…"

He was bleeding from his neck, right where he'd been cut by Excalibur.

"When did _that_ happen?" Regina asked.

"It was Excalibur," Emma replied worriedly. "I-It was just a small cut. I healed it."

"I'm afraid it only seemed that way," Merlin said as everyone turned to him, but Emma ignored them, trying to comprehend what was happening. "Excalibur was forged to cut immortal ties. A wound from it cannot be healed."

"What?" Mary Margaret said, clearly worried that her daughter would lose the man she loved. "There has to be something you can do, that SHE can do."

"Even Emma's power isn't strong enough, nor is my own."

"Killian," Emma said, still in shock. "You have to hold on. I can't lose you."

"It's alright," Killian managed to mutter, clearly in immense pain. "Emma, it's alright."

"Please, no… Don't leave me. You have to stay," Emma whispered, tears forming in her eyes. "You have to stay. Come on, Killian, what about our future together?"

"Our future is now," he replied, his life draining from him. "Reunite the blades so I can see them before I go."

She heard the voice in her head again. _You can save him, dearie,_ Rumple's voice called to her. _Use your anger. Use your power._ An idea appeared in Emma's head.

"NO," she cried out.

"No?" Regina repeated, curiosity present in her voice.

"I'm not going to let him die when there's a way to save him," Emma said reassuringly.

"Emma… Merlin said it, there's nothing you can do."

"That's what he said, but it's not true, is it?" Emma turned to face Merlin. "You told me how powerful I am. Let's use that power. I-I can use the Promethean Flame to release you from Excalibur and then I can use it to tether Hook's life to it instead. It could save him."

Worry washed over Merlin's face. "Emma, you know what that could do?"

"Create another Dark One," Regina answered for her.

"It would multiply the darkness so that it cannot be destroyed," Merlin went on. "Not without you paying the steepest of prices. It will be your final step into the dark."

Emma turned back to look at Killian, who groaned in pain. _He's going to die,_ the voice in her head told her. _Are you really going to let that happen?_

"I don't care what happens to me," she said, staring at Killian.

"Emma, wait," her father urged.

"Please, listen, you can't," her mother continued.

"Emma, your parents are right," Regina agreed.

Suddenly, Emma was overcome with rage. "If you could have saved Daniel, or Robin... Look at how far you were willing to go, how far you pushed me to save him," Emma yelled angrily. Regina didn't respond. "I'm not going to lose Killian. I won't let anyone stop me."

Emma waved her left hand, and she and Killian were in the Middlemist meadow. Emma stared at Killian.

"Emma," he groaned weakly.

"Killian," Emma said with a reassuring smile. She let out a small cry. "You're going to be okay."

"No, please," Killian whispered. "You have to let me go."

"What?" Emma asked curiously.

"I don't want to pay this price," he went on. "I don't want to become that."

"You won't," Emma said to him. "You can fight the darkness; I can help you. We can do it together.

"I'm not as strong as you are, or Merlin, I'm weak," he continued. "The things I-I've done… I've succumbed to darkness before in my life, and it took centuries to push it away. I don't know if I can do it again." Killian held her hand tightly.

"But our future—"

"Emma, please. You have your family, your friends. You don't need me, not like you need them," he said, his eyes closing slowly. "Besides... who knows what I'll do—who I'll hurt—if I can't resist it."

Emma's heart lurched in her chest as tears streamed down her face. _He's going to die, Dark One,_ Rumple's voice uttered. _Unless you save him... Use your power._ Emma tried to ignore him.

"Killian, of course I need—"

"Please Emma," he interrupted. "You need to let me go. Please just tell me you won't do this, that you'll destroy the darkness, even if I won't be here to see it. I-I don't want you to give into your darkness for me. I want you to go on. You've got enough people left to live for. Just promise me one thing… Promise me you'll be happy, that you won't put that armor of yours back on."

"I…" Emma stopped. Her parents' voices ran through her mind. Everyone was telling her not to do this. Everyone except that voice in her head, the same voice that had almost convinced her to crush Merida's heart and told her to steal Violet's heart to break her own son's heart. She knew she couldn't do this. "I promise."

She looked deeply into Killian's eyes one last time as he smiled. He opened his mouth as if to say something, only for his smile to fade from his face and his breathing to stop.

Emma couldn't stop the tears that were pouring out of eyes. She looked over to Excalibur, which lay in the grass of the meadow. She was tempted by her inner darkness to use it, but remembered her promise to Killian. She hugged him tightly for a few moments before standing up. She looked up to see Rumple's spirit who was pouting at her.

"You could have saved him, dearie," Rumple said, sighing and turning his gaze to Killian's body. He looked back up and gasped as a smile that could scare even the darkest of Dark Ones spread across Emma's face. His confusion turned into a dark smile as he said, "Oh, I do like the look of this."

* * *

 **GRANNY'S, CAMELOT - MOMENTS AGO**

 **HENRY'S POV**

"… I'm not going to lose Killian. I won't let anyone stop me."

Henry wasn't able to form any words. He just gaped at the space where his mother crouched over Killian, the pirate who had developed a place in his heart, just moments before.

"How could she be so stupid?" Regina asked.

"Wh-where's she gone?" Belle asked after a long period of silence.

Everyone looked towards Merlin, whose face showed that he was expecting the worst.

"This is my mom we're talking about," Henry managed to say. "And I know her well enough to know that she definitely doesn't want to be found. Not now."

Everyone looked towards the floor, fearing the worst.

"Just who is he?" Merlin asked. "This… Killian Jones."

Mary Margaret looked up at him. "He used to be a pirate," she responded. "He was a villain when we first met, hell-bent on getting his revenge on the previous Dark One, Rumplestiltskin. But he changed – because of Emma, because he loves her."

"Does she love him just as much?" Merlin inquired.

"I think so, yes."

"Then I fear the worst."

Merlin let out a sigh and Regina looked at him with curiosity. "If you can see the future," she said. "Then surely you foresaw this."

He only glared at her, but didn't respond.

"You did, didn't you?" David asked, anger in his voice.

"There was nothing I could do," he replied. "I only received the glimpse during the battle I had with Emma in the woods, and like most of my glimpses of the future, this was quite a blur. I saw two outcomes. There's one where she resists using the blade and allows him to die. She then returns here, and completes Excalibur. On the other path, she uses the blade and turns him into a Dark One, and gives into her darkness."

"Well, I'm not going to just stand around and do nothing while I might be losing my daughter—my hope—to darkness," Mary Margaret said after a while, standing up from the crouching position she had been in.

"You're right," David agreed. "Let's go find—"

He was interrupted by a 'poof' sound.

"Relax. I'm right here," Emma said, staring at them all from the door of Granny's. They were all startled by her arrival. She didn't look any different. Henry noticed tears on her face. Everyone looked down to see Killian's lifeless body on the floor in front of her. She was holding Excalibur.

"Mom," Henry asked, tears stinging in his eyes. "What happened?"

Emma looked into his teary eyes with teary eyes of his own. "I couldn't do it," she said, and fell to her knees. "I couldn't save him."

Henry ran over and hugged his mother unbelievably tightly. He felt a tear of hers run down her cheek and into his hair. Mary Margaret and David also came over to hug her. His other mother gave Emma a weak smile, and Henry noticed tears in her eyes. She, like all of them, had grown fond of the pirate.

"He wanted to make sure we put Excalibur back together and got rid of the darkness, even if he couldn't be here to see it," Emma said after a while.

"Well let's give him his wish," Regina responded, motioning towards the table in the middle of the room.

"Yeah…" Emma said weakly. "Let's get this sickness out of me."

Emma stood up and walked towards the table. She looked up at Henry, and Henry saw it as an opportunity to give her a reassuring smile and nod. Emma once again used her hands to light a flame in the air and held the two blades up to it. This time, however, she had enough time for the blades to become whole.

"It worked," Henry said, smiling a little.

Merlin walked over to Emma's side. "Now, are you ready?" Merlin asked with a slight smile. "The sword's true purpose can now be fulfilled."

"Yes," Emma said, tilting her head to the right. "Yes it can."

Everyone gasped as Emma put her hand through Merlin chest and pulled his heart out.

* * *

 _ **Author's Notes: Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this fanfic. I've had this on my mind for a while, and figured it would make a good fanfic, so here it is! I personally had a few issues with the Dark Swan storyline on the show, but I loved the scenes in Camelot of Emma resisting the darkness. This story is meant to show how I feel Emma would be like if she truly gave into the darkness. Chapter two will be available shortly.**_


	2. The Dark Swan's Curse

**CHAPTER TWO – The Dark Swan's Curse**

 **MIDDLEMIST MEADOW, CAMELOT - MOMENTS AGO**

 **EMMA'S POV**

"It appears you needed him more than you realized," Rumple's spirit said, clearly enjoying the look on Emma's face.

Emma couldn't explain how she was feeling. Rumple was right. She didn't realize how instrumental Killian was in keeping her from the darkness. She couldn't stop herself from smiling; she didn't WANT to stop herself from smiling.

"Well, Dark One, what is it you want?" Rumple asked curiously.

She felt a short-lived relief wash over as her smile faltered slightly. She wasn't sure. She looked at Killian's body in the meadow. To both her dismay and joy, her smile reappeared.

"Revenge."

"Revenge?" he repeated, glancing at Killian. "How original…"

"Quiet," she said, frustration present in her voice. Rumple dramatically threw his two hands in the air as if to surrender.

"Well, what's the plan, Dark One?" Rumple questioned. "Might I suggest a Dark Curse?"

* * *

 **GRANNY'S, CAMELOT - PRESENT TIME**

 **EMMA'S POV**

"MOM!" Henry screamed as his mother pulled the still-beating heart of Merlin out of his chest with her right hand. Regina and Robin took a step towards her, as if to try to stop her from crushing it, but she waved her left hand and froze everyone but Merlin in place.

"Careful, dearie, that's the oldest heart in all the realms," Rumple's spirit exclaimed excitedly from behind her. "Let's cut it open and count the rings!"

Emma smiled.

"Emma… wh-what are you doing?" Merlin asked, clearly concerned; he hadn't foreseen this far into the future.

Emma just glared at his heart, studying it. "Your heart is beautiful," she said after a while, caressing it with her finger. "After all these years, it still remains untouched by the darkness."

He stared at her in shock for a while. "What do you want?"

Emma stared up at him. "What a vague question," she noticed. "What DO I want? Well, an end to whatever world peace we've achieved, an end to light magic, oh, and revenge."

"Revenge?"

"Yes," she turned her head back to the heart. "And for that, I need to get back to Storybrooke, and bring a few things with me."

Merlin's eyes widened. "You want to cast the curse," he realized, causing Emma to smile in agreement. "It's not possible. Not without crushing the heart of the thing you love most."

Merlin glanced over at Henry. Emma threw her gaze over to the ghost of Rumplestiltskin, who could be seen by Merlin.

"Which is why I am not going to crush it, but someone else will… someone who might actually have feelings for you, dearie. And that's not me, but it is…" he said before morphing his form into Nimue's likeness. "Me."

"Nimue," Merlin acknowledged.

"Remember?" she asked. "I am all Dark Ones. It's romantic, isn't it? After all that's happened between us, you're still the thing I love most. And I do love you… I always have."

"But you're not really here," Merlin added, fear present in his voice.

"Ah, I'm afraid that's not _entirely_ true," Emma said. "She lives in all Dark Ones, so when I crush your heart, so will she."

Merlin gaped at Emma for a few moments. Emma could hear Killian's voice in her head, telling her to not give into her darkness for him, but Emma couldn't let his death go unavenged. She had chosen to blame Arthur for what happened to Killian. After all, he was the one who cut him with Excalibur.

Emma gave Merlin one last smile. "I'll also absorb your power when you die, which is nice bonus."

Still holding Merlin's heart in one hand, Emma waved her other hand to make a cauldron appear next to her, full of the ingredients needed to cast the curse, with the obvious exception.

"Emma, please," Merlin begged. "Is this what Killian would have wanted?"

Emma glared at him before shrugging. She knew he wouldn't want her to do this, but now, she could do what he always wanted to do. Not only would she take revenge on Arthur, but she could continue Killian's legacy, and kill Rumplestiltskin as well.

"Probably not," Emma told him. "But we can't really ask his opinion on the matter, now can we?"

Emma squeezed as Merlin's heart exploded into dust in her hand. She looked at her hand as scales that she had only seen on Rumplestiltskin in the Enchanted Forest appeared on it. The scales continued to form up her arm and all over her body. She felt her eyes enlarge as her pupil grew. It was quite the strange sensation, but one that Emma welcomed.

Suddenly, a shroud of darkness enveloped her as she allowed her inner darkness to show in her appearance. Her hair had become a snow white color (and Emma couldn't help but appreciate the irony), and her long, flowing Camelot attire turned into a tight black-scaled leather outfit. She laughed as she allowed the dust from the heart to fall into the cauldron. Merlin collapsed to the floor.

"Excellent work, dearie," Nimue said as she morphed back into Rumple. She stared at him for a moment.

 _By trusting me with your burden, you've left no room for him in that head of yours._ Emma stared off into space as purple mist slowly began to bubble over the cauldron.

"You can go now," Emma said coldly to Rumple, clearly hating the fact that he was still here. "I've embraced the darkness."

He sighed. "Very well," he said. "If you should ever have need of me, you know where I'll be."

He pointed a finger toward her forehead before he disappeared. She turned to look at her family and friends, who all had a look of shock and fear in their eyes. She waved her hand to lock the door of Granny's and waved her other hand to un-freeze them. They all stared in shock and horror at what she had done. Mary Margaret and David bent down over Merlin, but Emma waved her hand to dissolve his body into the air around them.

"Emma…" Mary Margaret said slowly, looking with fear at the creature that used to be her daughter. "I know things may seem horrible right now, but you just need to to believe—to hope—that things will—"

"I'm really not in the mood for a hope speech right now, Mom," Emma said, raising her hand and rolling her eyes. She reached out and grabbed Excalibur, which had been suspended in the air since she repaired it. "I'm gonna offer you a deal. I'll agree not to hurt any of you so long as you stay out of my way when we return to Storybrooke."

"Mom, please," Henry pleaded, stepping towards Emma. "You don't have to do this."

"Sorry, kid," Emma said. "Once a curse has been enacted, not even I can stop it. Now I'll ask once more: are you prepared to take my deal?"

"Sorry, Emma," Regina said, stepping forward and placing her arm protectively over Henry. "I'm not going to let you go around terrorizing Storybrooke like a villain."

"Is that what you think I am?" Emma inquired. "A villain?"

Emma considered it for a moment. Was she a villain? She wasn't sure what she was anymore. She certainly wasn't the Savior anymore.

"You did just kill someone," Regina said.

"He had it coming," Emma said with a shrug. "He did form Excalibur for that one purpose; to be able to not live out his immortal existence."

"That doesn't mean you can KILL him," David exclaimed, stepping forward. Mary Margaret nodded in agreement. Robin stood protectively in front of Regina, and Henry took a step back to join his other mother.

"It appears you've made up your mind," Emma sighed. "Oh well. You can't say I didn't try."

Emma waved her hand and they all collapsed around her. She summoned one of the many dreamcatchers she had made over the past few weeks here in Camelot in her other hand, and waved it in front of them, capturing their memories of the last six weeks within them. The dreamcatcher was filled with enough memories to add a memory wipe to her curse.

She turned to the cauldron and held the dreamcatcher over it for a moment. She considered that she could wipe her own memories of the last six weeks. She could return to Storybrooke as the Emma who was still resisting the darkness. She just wouldn't have Killian. She wouldn't even know where he was, or what happened to him. She shook her head, and released the dreamcatcher into the cauldron, causing the purple mist to boil over the sides of the cauldron.

She reached down into her jacket and pulled out Killian's ring. _You know I'm a survivor,_ he had said. _Well, this ring is why. It's the reason I'm alive._

She held onto it tightly as the mist began to raise on the floor, reaching up her legs and over her body, before pouring out of the chimney of Granny's to envelope all of Camelot.

"Next stop: Storybrooke," Rumple's voice just laughed in her head.

* * *

 _ **A/N – Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed this chapter of the fanfic. I don't think it turned out quite as well as the first chapter, but it does lay the groundwork for some interesting encounters when we return to Storybrooke in the next chapter.**_

 _ **I'm also planning on the Dark Swan being a type villain similar to that of Rumple (in the Enchanted Forest) or Loki from the Marvel movies, i.e. she's can be pretty sinister, but has quite the fun side as well. Chapter three will be available shortly.**_


	3. Return to Storybrooke

**CHAPTER THREE – Return to Storybrooke**

 **GRANNY'S, STORYBROOKE - PRESENT TIME**

 **HENRY'S POV**

Henry awoke with a headache in Granny's shop, which was shaking as though there was an earthquake. What the hell had happened? He was just walking next to Regina and Belle into Arthur's castle in Camelot. He stood up and dusted himself off, realizing that he was wearing Arthurian attire, before taking a look out the window. Shops lined the streets outside. They were back in Storybrooke. Henry also noticed that one of the tables had been pushed into the center of the room, and there was a cauldron beside it.

Just then, Sneezy and Sleepy entered the diner. Everyone else in the diner—Regina, Mary Margaret, David, Belle, Zelena, Granny, Grumpy, and Doc—was still gathering themselves. They had all been walking into Camelot and then immediately woke up in Granny's, almost as if it was dream. It didn't make any sense… unless…

"What are you guys doing here?" Sneezy asked curiously.

"What happened?" Mary Margaret asked, protecting her baby Neal.

"We're back," David said, almost like a question.

"This doesn't make any sense," Regina said. "We were just walking into Camelot."

"What the hell are we wearing?" Grumpy asked confusedly, staring at his odd new outfit. "Sneezy, what happened? How long were we gone?"

"Six weeks," Sneezy answered.

Everyone turned to him, stunned.

"What?" Regina asked, shocked.

"Our memories…" David said, putting everything together. "They're gone."

"Again," Mary Margaret added. Everyone stood around for a moment.

"Where's Emma?" Henry asked, realizing his mother was missing. Everyone looked to him, concern burning in their eyes. They all turned to the sudden 'poof' sound that came from the doorway.

There Emma stood. Her previously golden wavy hair was now pulled back into a tight, snow white bun on her head, her lips were coloured red as blood, her skin was sickly pale, her black scaled clothes were tight around her skinny frame. There was no doubt about it. His mother was the Dark One, and was clearly embracing it. They all stared at her in shock for a moment, trying to read her blank expression. Then, a dark and mischievous smile spread across Emma's face.

"Hey guys."

* * *

 **STORE ROOFTOP, STORYBROOKE - MOMENTS AGO**

 **EMMA'S POV**

Emma watched from the rooftop of stores across the street as Granny's landed back to where it once stood in Storybrooke. She looked down at Killian's body, which lay next to her. The power felt good. The darkness was now coursing through her veins. It made her wonder why she even fought this in the first place.

 _If we can overcome our demons,_ Killian had said in an effort to stop her from crushing Merida's heart. _Then so can you._

She didn't want to overcome them anymore. She didn't need to overcome them. She can do whatever she wants.

"Well, dearie," Rumple's confused voice came from behind her. "It appears we're back in Storybrooke... How?"

She turned to face him, tilting her head to match his confusion. "You don't remember?" she asked.

She turned her head to see two of the dwarves walk into Granny's. She couldn't remember who they were. She didn't CARE who they were.

"I'm afraid not. It must have be a side effect of your curse, for I cannot access any memories in your head after you and you lover were walking towards the castle." He turned to look at Killian's body. "Yes, yes, it seems much as happened."

She turned her head towards the body and waved her hand, making his body disappear; she didn't know what she was going to do with it. "I won't trouble you with the details now. All you need to be aware of is that I have embraced the darkness."

"Yes, yes, yes, that much is abundantly clear," he commented, admiring her new outfit. She laughed and did a little twirl for him, the black transparent cape of her outfit wrapping around her. "And how do you plan on breaking that news to them?" he asked, pointing a scaly finger at Granny's.

"With style," she said and heard him giggle as she waved her hand and appeared in the doorway of Granny's.

They all turned to stare at her. She allowed them to bask in it for a while before speaking.

"Hey guys," she said with a smile, shocking them all with her tone.

"M-mom?" Henry questioned. "What happened to you?"

Emma allowed her darkness to speak for her. "What's wrong, kid," Emma said flirtatiously. "Not used to seeing mommy dearest in tight, sexy leather?"

She stepped forward, not soon before David's arm rose up to protect his wife, and Mary Margaret tightened her grip on Neal.

"I trust you all made it back safe—"

She was cut off by one of Sneezy's sneezes. Her smile dropped as she glared at him in disgust. She could tell that everyone was scared for him. Her smile returned as she stepped towards him and waved her hand to turn the dwarf into nothing more than a pile of dust. She licked her lips at the feeling of her dark powers while everyone gasped.

"Bless you."

"Emma, wh…" Mary Margaret couldn't form words.

"What is it?" Emma questioned, her head tilting almost naturally at this point. "Oh, It's the outfit, isn't it? Or is it the hair? Sorry, I was in the mood for a change."

When Mary Margaret shook her head and opened her mouth to continue, Emma knew what she was talking about it.

"Oh, your memories!" Emma exlclaimed. "Yeah, well I'm afraid I had to take them from you. What happened in Camelot isn't important right now. What is important, however, is that here you all are; my family, my friends. We can't have you figuring out my terrible, terrible plan, now can we?"

She took another step, but this time was blocked by Regina. "Emma, stop," she said. "That's enough."

Emma let out a mixture of a sigh and a laugh. "Or what?" she said, feigning cowardice.

"Or I'll do exactly what you asked me to," Regina said, reaching for the Dark One Dagger on her belt, only to find it's not there.

Emma rolled her eyes. "Ah, I believe you're looking for this," she said, summoning the completed Excalibur. Everyone stared at the sword that had her name embroidered at the top of it. "Or, part of it, at least. Look, it's pretty complicated, and I don't really have time to get into it here, but the Dagger and Excalibur were once one blade. I was able to unite them once again but, unfortunately for you, this sword doesn't control anyone now, but it can still kill me, if you want to try and take it from me."

Emma ended with a little laugh. Regina took a step back, as if to back off.

"Clever girl." Henry stared her mother in the eyes, and Emma almost winced at the fear that was burning in his eyes. _Almost._

"Mom," Henry began, struggling to find his words. "Why are you doing this?"

Emma took a moment. "Why am I here taunting you?" she asked. "Darling, I'm here to make a deal! Why else would a Dark One have need of all you…" She stopped and looked at them all. "Heroes?"

"And what is this deal you're referring to?" Regina asked, clearly trying to ignore the fact that Emma didn't consider herself a hero anymore.

"Well, if you all agree to stay out of my way while I carry out my plan," she said, forming a contract in her hand. "I'll restore all your memories when I'm finished." Regina squinted at her.

"I don't suppose you'll tell us your plan before hand," Regina said hopefully.

"I'm afraid not," Emma responded.

"Give us time to think it over," Regina said. Emma rolled her eyes.

"Fine," she said. "I'll be back here tomorrow at midnight."

She walked back towards the door.

"Emma!" Regina called after her. "Where's Zelena?"

Emma turned and noticed Henry looking around "And Killian?" Henry added.

Emma's dark smile noticeably faded from her face and everyone stared at her curiously. "Zelena escaped while we were in Camelot," Emma said after a while. "She got swept up in my curse though, so she'll show up eventually."

Emma formed the enchanted bracelet that had the ability to counteract someone's magic in her hand. She threw it over to Regina, who looked at her with an odd look.

"What?" Emma asked. "I'm not ALL bad… That bracelet won't work on me anyway."

"And what about Hook?" David asked.

Emma stared at her father for a while and could feel tears trying to fight their way into her eyes. After thinking about it, she figured it would be best if she gave the body to them, so she waved her hand and summoned Killian's body at her feet. Everyone gasped and took a step back.

"He died a hero," she asked, shaking her words. "Give him a proper grave, will you? It can be the price for the bracelet."

"Oh my god," Mary Margaret said with tears falling out of her eyes. "Emma, I'm so sorry."

She took a step towards her daughter, but Emma raised her hand up to stop her. If she allowed her mother to reach her, she'd break down in tears.

"Don't," she said, allowing a tear to fall from her eye. She looked up at everyone else, some of which were tearing up, her father among them. She couldn't take it anymore, and, with the flick of her hand, disappeared from Granny's.

* * *

 _ **A/N – Hey guys! Thanks for reading this chapter! I hope you're all enjoying the way I'm handling the Dark Swan. I plan to have the next few chapters following a similar format to this one (i.e. most of it told from Emma's perspective, but some of it from other characters perspectives, like Henry in this chapter's case). Once again, if you guys have any ideas you would like to see in the story, feel free to post them below! Chapter four should be up shortly.**_


	4. A True Hero's Funeral

**CHAPTER FOUR – A True Hero's Funeral**

 **GRAVEYARD, STORYBROOKE - PRESENT TIME**

 **HENRY'S POV**

Henry could hear nothing but the raindrops falling on the wet grass of the graveyard, and didn't notice the tears that had been coming out of his eyes until Killian's coffin was being lowered into the grave. They all stood around it in silence.

It had been three days since they returned to Storybrooke without their memories. They had turned down Emma's deal, hoping that they could uncover her plan and save her before it was too late. Henry was conflicted with emotions. He was devastated over Hook's death, but extremely angry with his mother for not showing up to the funeral and taking his memories.

After a moment of silence, Henry turned around, unable to look at the grave any longer, and noticed an elderly woman that he'd never seen before. He knew immediately that it was Emma in disguise. He couldn't bring himself to go up to her, and so let her be. When he could feel himself about to break down, he turned to hug the nearest body he could find who, in this case, was Belle. He turned his head to look up at Belle, noticing the tears glistening on her cheeks. He sneaked a look at Emma who had visibly tensed up.

After a few moments longer, people began to clear out of the graveyard. As Henry began to walk away, he turned back to see that elderly woman step towards the grave. Disgusted, Henry turned and left Emma to say goodbye.

* * *

 **GRAVEYARD, STORYBROOKE - PRESENT TIME**

 **EMMA'S POV**

Emma could feel Henry's gaze on her, and knew that he knew that she was hiding. She had to get her bearings in order before she could confront them again. She truly struggled to resist them trying to pull her back to the light in Granny's. Despite her great new power, she still wanted to run to her mother's arms and cry. Rumple had promised that that would no longer be a problem once she had snuffed out the light for good using Excalibur, but Emma wanted to enjoy taunting them first. The Dark Ones have waited millennia to return to this land from the Underworld; they can wait a few more weeks…

Her mind trailed off as a devastating thought came into her head. Is Killian in the Underworld? Emma tensed up. Could he be trapped in hell?

 _Of course not, dearie,_ Rumple's voice echoed in her head. _He had no unfinished business._

Emma chose to believe him, though she wasn't completely sure why.

As everyone began to leave the graveyard, Emma stepped toward the grave, talking a moment to prepare herself. She checked to see if anyone was still around, and saw Henry closing the gate to the graveyard and start walking towards Granny's. She waved her hand to return to her Dark One form and put a hand on his coffin.

"Don't worry, Killian," she said, a tear escaping her eye. "We'll get him. We'll get them both."

"And how do you plan on doing that?" Rumple asked from behind her. "All you've done so far is taunt your family, kill an innocent dwarf, and cry a lot. You're not exactly the darkest of Dark Ones."

Emma turned to face him. "All in good time, Rumple," she said. "I get my revenge; you get to bring all your friends back from hell, plus an end to light magic." Emma took a moment. "I must say, there appears to be more in this deal for you than for me..."

Rumple just giggled.

* * *

 **GRANNY'S, STORYBROOKE - LATER**

 **BELLE'S POV**

Belle entered Granny's just ahead of Henry. She still clung tightly to the glass jar containing a rose that Blue had given her. Each petal that falls brings Rumple closer to death. She sat with Henry, Mary Margaret, David, Regina, and Robin Hood in their usual booth.

She looked around the room trying to take her mind off Killian's death and Rumple's coma, but her eyes ultimately began to well up as she turned her head back to the rose. She didn't expect Killian's death to affect her this way, but it did. The two had grown quite close, despite their very first encounter.

 _You must be Belle,_ he had said, closing the dungeon door behind him.

She had been kidnapped by Regina after saving Prince Philip, who had been turned into a Yaoguai, with the help of Mulan.

 _The Queen sent you, didn't she?_ Belle had asked rhetorically, accepting her fate. _She wants you to kill me._

 _I'm not here to kill you, love,_ he had responded, confusing her. _I'm here to rescue you._

He reached for the chains around her legs and arms.

 _Rescue me?_ Belle had asked, hoping Rumple had sent him. _Who are you?_

 _A friend,_ he had answered. _We haven't much time. Your father's life is in danger. He's being attacked by the very same monster who stole you away from your family in the first place._

She had been starting to put it all together. _Rumplestiltskin?_

 _The Dark One,_ Killian had agreed. _He must be stopped. You spent more time with him than anyone. There are rumors of a magical weapon with the power to kill him—_

 _No, no, no,_ Belle had interrupted. _Let me talk to him. He's NOT a monster._

 _Belle, you're father's life hangs in the balance,_ he had said, worry in his tone. _I need to know what that weapon is and where to find it._

She had been even more confused. _I have no idea what you're talking about, and I have no idea how to… kill Rumplestiltskin._

Belle will never forget the sight of his face dropping at her statement.

 _You don't?_

 _No. And nor would I._

 _Hm. Well then, I'm afraid I'm not here to rescue you then,_ he uttered before striking her across the face, knocking her out.

Belle's hand instinctively went up to her face at the memory. He wasn't that man anymore. Belle felt horrible. She didn't even know how Killian had died. She didn't know if they could trust Emma. Her mind went to a dark place and she tensed up. What if… What if Emma killed him? How else would she have enacted the curse? She looked up at the others, and had to ask them.

"You guys don't think that Emma—" Belle began.

"No," David replied firmly, clearly thinking along the same lines as her. "She wouldn't." No one else spoke for a while.

* * *

 **GRANNY'S STORYBROOKE - MOMENTS AGO**

 **DAVID'S POV**

David was sitting with Mary Margaret, Neal, Regina, and Robin Hood when Belle and Henry entered Granny's and sat down with them, giving them all a weak smile. David wasn't aware that Hook's death would hurt him the way it was now. He had never been a fan of the pirate, but the two had grown close in Hook's effort to win his daughter's heart. He began to reminisce of his time with Hook in Neverland, where Hook had proven he wasn't all bad by saving his life.

 _In this canteen is the water that will stop the Dreamshade, that will save your life,_ he had said, handing him a canteen filled with water from a hidden stream behind the Dreamshade thorns.

 _That's why you brought me up here?_

 _Yes._

 _You knew I wouldn't come on my own, that I wouldn't leave my family,_ David had said, fitting the pieces together.

 _That you're stubborn? Yes I gathered that rather quickly._

 _Well? Give it to me,_ David asked just before Hook pulled it away from him.

 _There's something you need to know first,_ he said, clearly concerned. _Because its power comes from the island, once you drink this water, you can never leave Neverland._

David didn't even have to consider it. _It's a small price to pay for what I get in return,_ he said, looking at Hook. _A chance to save my grandson, and to help my family get home._

He took a huge gulp from the canteen, and laughed as his strength returned to him, as the Dreamshade was flushed out of his system. Even though he had done it in an effort to impress Emma, the pirate had still saved his life.

His mind drifted to Emma, and how she said he died a hero. And yet, she still felt inclined to remove their memories. Could she be lying about it? About what happened to him? She couldn't have possibly... His mind trailed off. He felt Belle's gaze fall on him and the others. She must have been thinking the same thing.

"You guys don't think that Emma—" she began.

Realizing what she was about to say, and not wanting to hear the words, David had to butt in. "No. She wouldn't."

After a long silence, David got up and called everyone's attention.

"Attention everyone," he said. "I understand that these past few days have been difficult. Not only did we lose my daughter to darkness, but we also lost a great friend, or _mate_ as he would say. And so, today, we are here to acknowledge that Hook did not die a villain in an effort to get his revenge; he died a hero, to save us all from God knows what. We promise that we will find out what Emma is planning and, not only will we stop her, but we will save her from the darkness that she is clinging to. But for tonight, let's have a toast…"

He stopped to pull out Hook's rum flask that he had been given before the funeral. He raised it as everyone else raised their glasses.

"To Hoo—" He stopped. "To Killian."

Little did her father know that Emma was standing outside, looking in on them, tears streaming down her face.

* * *

 _ **A/N – Hey guys! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and are enjoying the story so far. As you can see, Killian's death has had a huge impact on everyone, with Belle and David giving an account in this chapter. Others will be giving their reactions to Killian's death the coming chapters. Chapter five should be up shortly.**_


	5. The Price

_**Side note: It may be a good idea to re-watch the second episode of season five ("The Price") before reading this chapter.**_

* * *

 **CHAPTER FIVE – The Price**

 **THE DOCKS, STORYBROOKE - PRESENT TIME**

 **HENRY'S POV**

Henry stared out at the sea. He found it calming, he always had. He looked down at the beach and thought about once the first times Killian had brought him sailing.

He had been sitting on the beach, tying knots. Henry didn't remember anything about the curse. It was just after they came back to Storybrooke after spending a year in New York, but Henry's memories hadn't been restored. Neal had just died as well, though Henry wouldn't understand the full impact of this until his memories were restored.

 _I think I've tied every knot in here,_ he had said, glancing up towards Killian, who was staring at the stars. _When do we get to the part about my dad?_

 _Just a few moments longer…_ Killian had answered slowly. _There._ He had pointed at the sky with his good hand. _Come here._

He indicated for Henry to come over to him. He had handed him what he now knew was a sextant.

 _What's this?_ Henry had asked curiously.

 _That, my boy, is a sextant. It's a tool used by sailors to navigate._

Henry was starting to catch on. _Like a GPS?_ Henry had asked, unaware that Killian had no idea what that was.

 _Aye,_ he said after a look of confusion passed on his face. _It measures our position using the stars._

 _Uh, I'm not sure that's what a GPS does,_ Henry said, giving him an odd look. _But what does it have to do with my dad?_

 _Well, I taught him to navigate with one, just as I'm going to teach you._

 _Weren't you both in the navy or something?_ Henry had asked, picking up on several plot-holes in his mother's story.

 _No,_ Killian had responded, clearly not aware of what Emma had told him. _Bae—Neal—was just a boy when I taught him._

Henry had been baffled. _Wait, aren't you the same age? It seems like the more you tell me about my dad, the less things makes sense. I don't want to learn how to navigate; I just want to hear something about my dad that doesn't make him sound like he's made up so I'll like the guy._

 _Your mother isn't keeping things from you because she doesn't want you to know the truth…_ Killian had said reassuringly.

 _I know, she's doing it to protect me but, how am I supposed to feel anything about him being gone if I don't know what he was like when he was here?_

Killian had smiled. _Fair enough, mate. What I haven't told you is why I taught your father to sail. It was because he had just lost his father. I thought the sea would help ease his sorrow._

 _Wait, he lost his dad too?_ Henry had asked a little upset.

He didn't realize that Neal's dad was actually Mr. Gold, and that he hadn't 'lost' him in the same way.

 _Aye. Something dark and evil, when he wasn't much older than you._

 _Really?_

 _Indeed. You see, you might not think you know much about your father, but you have more in common with him that you realize._

That had been enough to satisfy Henry.

He was so lost in thought that he didn't feel the tears start to crawl out of his eyes until they had reached his cheek. He wiped them away, and realized what he had to do. He needed to talk to Emma. He needed to find out what happened in Camelot. So, he summoned up all his courage.

"Emma Swan," he said three times, turning to the 'poof' sound next to him.

"Henry," she said, a not-so-sinister smile forming on her lips. He didn't realize he'd taken a step back from her, causing the smile to fall off her face. "You don't have to be scared of me."

"Mom," Henry had asked shakily. "What happened? Why are you like this now?"

"It's… complicated," she replied.

"I'm sorry," Henry said, causing Emma to look at him with confusion. "If this was because of something I did... something we did."

"Henry, no," Emma said, Henry allowing her to step towards him and put a hand on his shoulder. "It wasn't your fault. I just…" She struggled to find her words.

"Get away from my son," Regina called from behind them.

Both Emma and Henry rolled their eyes. Henry was finally getting somewhere with Emma, who had just retreated back into herself. "What's wrong, Regina?" Emma asked, cocking her head. "Scared of the competition?"

"Scared of you?" Regina repeated, ending it with a laugh. "Please, you're no darker than I ever was. In fact, I'd be willing to say you're not even as dark as I was."

"Soon, Regina, soon," Emma said, making Regina squint in confusion at her. "I hope you're ready to play pretend-Savior again, because there's a problem heading to Storybrooke that only a Savior can solve."

Regina furrowed her brows in confusion. "Again?"

Emma giggled and waved her head to disappear in a cloud of smoke.

* * *

 **MAIN STREET, STORYBROOKE - LATER THAT DAY**

 **EMMA'S POV**

Emma watched Main Street from the rooftops. Her encounter with Regina had gone according to plan. The Fury should be able to keep them all busy while she addressed her plan. However, she was worried about how Henry was still able to break down those walls of hers. That was something she needed to find a solution to.

She sneered as two dwarves walked into her field of vision. They were discussing the friend that they had just turned into a tree in an attempt to leave Storybrooke. It had been part of Emma's curse that she had specifically implemented. She couldn't risk Arthur fleeing Storybrooke. Besides, the reference to Merlin's former state made her smile. She was also working on a way to awaken Gold. She couldn't just kill him in his current state.

"Actually," Rumple's impatient voice came from behind her. "Yes, you could."

"You're right," Emma said, rolling her eyes and turning to him. "I could, but I won't."

"And why not, dearie?"

"Because I know my Killian," Emma said smiling and turning her attention back to Main Street where she heard the two dwarves mention something about tacos. "And he would want this settled the old-fashioned way."

She summoned Excalibur in her hand and Rumple grinned. "Very well then…" he agreed reluctantly, and they both stared at the road, delighted to hear sounds of horses coming down the street. "I believe that's your guy."

Emma watched as three knights, dressed in Arthurian armor, rode down the main street of Storybrooke, one of the knights on a white horse. One of the dwarves pulled out his axe in an effort to fight off the knights.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you to not mess with a dwarf with a pickaxe?" Grumpy asked, attempting to strike one of the knights, only to miss horribly and be caught off guard by the knight, who pulled him to his knees and held a sword to his chest.

The knight on the white horse took his helmet off, revealing King Arthur's face. "Didn't anyone ever teach you to kneel before a king?" he asked, the smug look on his facing making Emma dream of tearing his heart out painfully. All in good time. "Now, tell me. Where am I and how the hell did I get here?"

"I can help with that." They all whipped around to see a smiling Emma, who had just teleported herself behind them.

Arthur stared at her for a while before hopping off his horse and stepping towards her. "And just who might you be?" he asked.

"Oh, my apologies; you have forgotten our formal introduction. My name is Emma Swan," she said, taking a bow. "Or, as others know me, the Dark One."

She looked up to see fear in his eyes. She stood up straight and smiled.

"Oh, it appears my reputation precedes me."

She saw a flash of anger across his face. "Wait," he said, realizing who she was. "You! I invited you into my castle! I lead you, the darkest of souls, into the heart of my kingdom."

"Ah, that you did," Emma said, noticing that the two dwarves had run off. "You see, I had need of your… equipment."

"And what equipment might that be?" Arthur asked with an odd look on his face.

"Why this of course," Emma responded, summoning the complete Excalibur into her hands once again.

He took a step back in shock. "Excalibur…" he began. "It's whole…"

"Yes, it is," Emma said, admiring the sword. "But it's not going to help you. This sword doesn't control anyone now." The sword disappeared in her hand. "I suggest you three run along. I'm sure you'll find someone in this town who doesn't hate you so much that they hope your death is slow and painful and by their hands."

Emma glared at Arthur, who gave her a confused look before hopping back on his horse and riding off in the direction the dwarves ran.

* * *

 **EMMA'S HOUSE, STORYBROOKE - LATER THAT DAY**

 **EMMA'S POV**

"Swan!" Regina yelled as she opened the door to the house Killian had picked out for the two of them back in Camelot. Emma had moved in, wishing to honor his wishes of a future with her, but a part of her hated the fact that he couldn't be here to share it with her. "I know you're here. Leroy spotted you walking inside earlier."

"You know it's customary to bring a gift for a housewarming," Emma said, appearing in the doorway behind Regina. "Maybe a nice bottle of wine?"

"We need to talk," Regina said, anger present in her tone.

Emma laughed. "I suppose we could just bottle that rage and drink it instead."

"I don't know what you meant when you said I'm playing pretend-Savior, but I know for sure that I'm not the Savior."

"Well, there's something we can both happily agree on."

"I don't have a choice. I know the only way to stop the Fury is to pay its price."

Emma glared at her. "Then why aren't you off paying it?"

"Because I know what it is – a life. I won't sacrifice someone else to save Robin."

Emma opened her mouth, feigning shock. "What? Now you're going to be heroic? Now life is precious to you?" Emma asked rhetorically as Regina gave her a hurt look.

"Emma," Regina said seriously. "Listen to me: I know you, the good you, is still in there."

Emma rolled her eyes. "Sorry, Regina, it's still just me. There are no good or bad versions of people. You, of all people, should know that."

"Then call the Fury off."

"Excuse me?"

"It's your test."

Emma felt a sudden hint of rage fall over her that she allowed herself to fall victim to. "No."

"No?"

"Listen to me very closely, Regina, I am done fixing all your problems."

"My problems?! You started this. You called it here."

"Oh, you think I did this?"

"Would I be here otherwise?"

"You see, that's your problem right there, _dearie._ You're always looking for somebody else to blame. Yes, the Fury is here because of my magic, but the price is not mine to pay."

"Then who's is it?"

"Yours," Emma said, advancing towards her, causing Regina to back away. Emma could feel her voice rising with her rage. "You are the one who did not pay the price of magic in Camelot. You want to save Robin Hood? You want to be a true Savior? Then step up and do what needs to be done!"

Once Regina reached the patio, Emma slammed it on her face. She breathed heavily for a few minutes.

"Well, that was dramatic," Rumple said, appearing in a sitting position on her kitchen table with his legs folded.

Emma smiled. "Why, thank you. I needed this from her anyway."

She opened her clenched fist to reveal a strand of Regina's hair.

"Well done, dearie," Rumple said clapping and pushing himself off the table. "Now what?"

Emma twisted the strand of hair between her index and middle finger. "Now we find Zelena."

* * *

 _ **A/N – Hey guys! Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. As I mentioned at the start, this chapter coincided with the events of 5x02 ("The Price"), such as Arthur arriving in Storybrooke, the Fury taking Robin Hood, and Emma yelling at Regina. I left out the scenes with the Fury as everything that happened with the Fury in my story occurred the exact same way as it did on the show (meaning that Regina, Snow, David, and Leroy were able to save Robin in the end). I also included a heart-warming CaptainCobra moment that occurs in 3x16 ("It's Not Easy Being Green") at the start of the fic. Chapter six should be up soon.**_


	6. The Sleeping Beast

_**Side note:**_ _ **It may be a good idea to re-watch the third episode of season five ("Siege Perilous") if possible before reading this chapter.**_

* * *

 **CHAPTER SIX – The Sleeping Beast**

 **EMMA'S HOUSE, STORYBROOKE - PRESENT TIME**

 **EMMA'S POV**

"Zelena?" Rumple's spirit asked confused.

Emma threw him a look. "Yes," Emma said slowly. "We need her for your plan to snuff out light magic once and for all."

"Ah," Rumple said, throwing his head back. "I thought you were focusing on awaking me and killing Arthur."

"I'm multitasking…" Emma said impatiently, rolling her eyes. "Speaking of Gold, however, I still need to discover a way to awaken him before he dies. My research has got me nowhere."

"Well, dearie, maybe you need to enlist the help of some… old friends."

His statement confused Emma at first, but she smiled when she realized what he meant. "Well, I do hope you don't me taking a little more time to do that instead, then," Emma told him.

"We've waited centuries upon centuries for this, dearie," Rumple replied. "We can wait a few more days or weeks if needs be."

* * *

 **GOLD'S PAWNSHOP, STORYBROOKE - THE NEXT DAY**

 **DAVID'S POV**

Mary Margaret joined David and Arthur as they walked into Gold's shop. Belle was standing at the counter, concentrated on the rose that showed how close Gold was to death.

"Belle," David said greeting her. "How is he?"

He used his head to point towards the rose.

"Not well," Belle replied. "But, I found a healing spell in one his old notebooks, and I've got everything put together except for one last ingredient." Belle indicated to a table of ingredients, which Mary Margaret took note of. "I need an object that touched him when he was still a man, before he became the Dark One."

Mary Margaret tilted her head to the side.

"Well, you must have something," David said.

"Nothing I could find," Belle said with a sigh. "There's still more to look through, though."

"Do you want me to get you some help?" David asked.

"No," Belle answered. "I'm the only one who knows this place, knows his things, and I need to keep doing something."

"Well, then we'll make this quick," David said, nodding to Mary Margaret and Arthur, who had agreed to help them once he learnt the Dark One was in possession of the completed Excalibur. "Has anyone come in to pawn anything today?"

"Especially a magic bean," Arthur added, anxious to get all of the people Emma had brought from Camelot with the curse back home.

"A bean?" Belle asked curiously. "No, no one's come in. Sorry."

David and Arthur both sighed. "It was worth a shot," David said, trailing off. Something else caught his attention. "That's alright. You have something else I need. May I borrow this?"

He went over to the counter and picked up a chalice.

"Uh, yeah…" Belle said with confusion.

"This," David said, showing it to Arthur. "Is going to point us right at our culprit."

"It's not magic though," Belle explained. "It's just a souvenir from Doc's birthday part." She pointed at it. "It says 'Doc-tober Fest' on it."

"Oh, I'm very well aware," David said, nodding his head. "Don't worry I've—"

David was interrupted by a loud noise in the other room that conveniently sounded as Mary Margaret's hand flinched. They all looked at each other.

"Emma," Belle, David, and Mary Margaret said in sync. They all ran into the back room to find it almost completely untouched. Gold still lay, unhurt, in his coma.

"What was that?" David asked, looking between them, only to notice something strange. "Wait... Where's Mary Margaret?"

* * *

 **EMMA'S HOUSE, STORYBROOKE - MOMENTS LATER**

 **EMMA'S POV**

Mary Margaret appeared in Emma's house with the flick of her wrist.

"What did I tell you, dearie?" Rumple asked from behind her as Mary Margaret surrounded herself in a cloud of smoke to morph back into Emma. "Your old friends were of help to you."

"Indeed they were," Emma said while stretching. "All I need is something that touched him when he was still a man."

"And how do you plan on finding something like that?" Rumple asked, clearly already knowing what the answer was.

Emma summoned a dreamcatcher in her hand. Usually, she would have to wave it over Gold to catch his memories and view them, but the Dark One's powers combined with Merlin's allowed her to view Gold's complete history. She waved her hand over the dreamcatcher and began viewing his memories.

She saw him arrive in Neverland with his father, only to be abandoned by him. _We both know you're better off without me,_ Gold's father had said. _I was never meant to be a father._

Emma watched as Gold was carried off by Pan's shadow and forced to watch as his father was given his youth back and adapted the name Peter Pan.

She skipped through his childhood memories, and saw him raising Neal. She saw his wife, Milah, whom Killian had fallen in love with. Then, she saw Gold on Killian's ship trying to get Milah back from Killian. This must have been before the two fell in love. She was about to skip onward when she realized what Killian was holding to Gold's throat – a cutlass. She couldn't believe it. She had seen that same cutlass on Killian's ship when she was on it last.

She looked upwards and clutched tightly onto the ring he gave her in Camleot. "Thank you," Emma said, tears forming in her eyes.

She flicked her hand and appeared at the docks.

The Jolly Roger stood tall and proud in its location on the pier. Killian had asked her to put a protection spell on it after he had got it back with Ursula's help a few months ago. Only she and Killian could access the ship. She waved her hand to get rid of the barrier and stepped onto the Jolly Roger. Now that she had all this power, she felt the magic of the ship's enchanted wood course through her body. She walked into the Captain's Quarters.

* * *

 **REGINA'S VAULT, STORYBROOKE - PRESENT TIME**

 **DAVID'S POV**

David held the toadstool up before Mary Margaret and Regina.

"That's the one in the book from Camelot," Regina said, pointing to it.

Regina flicked through the book she found earlier until she landed on a page with an illustration of the toadstool entitled 'The Crimson Crown'.

"The one I found this morning," she continued. "That's what we were looking for back there."

"But why?" Mary Margaret asked.

"It's used to communicate through magical barriers," Regina explained. "We must have been trying to communicate with Merlin."

"I wonder if we did," Mary Margaret said, looking at Regina.

"Let's use it," David said. "Let's find out. If we can talk to him now…"

"…he can help us stop Emma from being the Dark One," Mary Margaret finished for him.

David nodded in agreement.

"David?" Mary Margaret said with a small smile. "You did it!"

"We'll need to do a bit more research first," Regina said, examining the toadstool. "Come on."

The three of them left Regina's vault. As they were walking through the graveyard, they passed Killian's grave, and paid their respects.

"Where did you disappear to earlier?" David asked his wife on the way out of the graveyard.

"Earlier?" Mary Margaret repeated. "I told you, I was going to help Regina see if we could find anything in Arthur's books that could help us uncover what happened in Camelot."

"Yeah," David said, nodding his head. "But then you showed up at Gold's shop with me and Arthur and came in with us to see Belle."

Mary Margaret looked at her husband with confusion in her eyes. "What are you talking about?" Mary Margaret asked after a moment.

David looked at her curiously. "You know, earlier. Remember? When we were in Gold's shop trying to find a magic bean to help Arthur get his people back to Camelot?"

"David, I didn't come with you," Mary Margaret said, positive that what she was saying was the truth. "I was with Regina the whole time."

"Well, if it wasn't you," David began.

"Could it have been Emma?" Regina asked.

"What could Emma possibly want so badly that she needed to disguise herself as me?" Mary Margaret asked Regina.

* * *

 **THE JOLLY ROGER, STORYBROOKE - PRESENT TIME**

 **EMMA'S POV**

Emma ran her fingers along the cutlass that was in Killian's Quarters on the Jolly Roger. She picked it up and flicked her hand to appear in the back of Gold's shop. She then warped both herself and the sleeping Gold to the basement of her house.

"Quite a stroke of luck," Rumple's spirit said, sitting on a large stone. "You finding something that touched him when he was still a man."

Emma threw him a glare. "It wasn't luck," Emma said, turning her attention back to the cutlass. "I worked hard for this."

Rumple sighed. "I suppose that's true, dearie."

Emma used her power to turn the cutlass into pebbles and allowed them to slip through her fingers and onto Gold's body. She had already sprinkled the other ingredients she needed onto him. She bent down over him and forced a smile onto her face. His eyes flickered open and, once he caught sight of Emma, he forced his eyes wide open and sat up, his back hitting off the stony wall of the basement.

"Wh-what do you want from me?" he asked, his tone stinking of fear. "You are the Dark One now, not me."

Emma tilted her head and licked her lips. "That's right," Emma said. "But I'm angry with you."

She flicked her hand to summon chains around Gold's legs and arms. She called forth a ball of white fire in her hand.

"What are you doing?" Gold asked, obviously fearful of what was to come.

"I'm sure Belle won't mind if I return you bruised, scorched, and beaten." She found herself sneering at her words. "That is, if there's any of you left to be returned to her when I'm done with you."

* * *

 _ **A/N – Hey guys! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Similarly to yesterday's chapter, this chapter contains many references to a season five episode, the one in this case being 5x03 ("Siege Perilous"). I'm not sure if I had made it clear before, but Dark Emma's plan is to snuff out the light, but she also wants her revenge on Arthur and Gold, which she is prioritizing above the snuffing out of the light. I'd also like to apologize for the slightly clunky dialogue, but this is the kind of dialogue I'd expect to see on the actual show. Chapter seven should be up soon.**_


	7. Finding the Wicked Witch

_**Side note: It may be a good idea to re-watch the fourth episode of season five ("The Broken Kingdom") if possible before reading this chapter.**_

* * *

 **CHAPTER SEVEN – Finding the Wicked Witch**

 **EMMA'S HOUSE, STORYBROOKE - LATER**

 **EMMA'S POV**

Emma and Rumple smiled as they stared at Gold's scorched and bruised body. His hair was filled with ashes, his cheeks were red with his own blood, he had a black eye from when he tried to run away, seeming forgetting that he couldn't move very well thanks to his right leg, which Emma had cut off for what he had done to Hook's hand.

"You know," Rumple said, tilting his head in sync with Emma's. "He doesn't look too good, if I do say myself. Perhaps you went a little too hard on him."

Emma glared at him. "Since when did you become the type to judge how a Dark One tortures their victims?" Emma asked.

Rumple took a moment. "Well, I suppose the leg was holding me back anyway," Rumple said, rolling his eyes.

"He'll be fine," Emma said, waving her hand to completely heal him. "There. A fresh slate."

"Now, can we get back to finding Zelena? You need a vessel to house the light magic in."

"Alright," Emma said, with a sigh. "I wasn't really bothered to do the locater spell, and have been a little busy lately, so I was hoping the heroes would have found her by now, but they're clearly as unreliable as ever without me."

"Well, what did you expect?"

"Quite frankly, I'd expected that they would have focused their attention on locating a mad witch with a fiery burn for revenge instead finding out what happened in Camelot." Emma took a moment. "Actually, I know exactly how to find her."

"Do you plan on telling them about what happened between you two in Camelot?" Rumple asked.

"Oh, I'm sure they'll figure it out themselves."

"You know," Rumple said after a while. "This is going to kill Zelena."

"I'm aware of that," Emma nodded.

"And I'm aware that you chose Zelena, and not any of your family members."

Emma glared at him for a moment. "What are you implying?"

"Well, dearie, you're all talk and no kill..."

"What do you want me to do? Stick Gold's head on a pike and display it on Main Street?"

They both stopped and turned their attention back to Gold. "That's not a bad idea," they said in unison.

Emma approached Gold's body.

* * *

 **GRANNY'S, STORYBROOKE - MOMENTS LATER**

 **DAVID'S POV**

David, Mary Margaret, Arthur, Regina, Robin, and Henry were all sitting in Granny's when they heard it – a scream unlike any they had ever heard before, even Regina.

Everyone from the diner, including Granny, Leroy, and Doc, ran out of the diner and onto the street. Leroy spotted Belle on the ground crying up by the library. They began to run up to her, but froze dead in their tracks when they saw what she was crying over.

It took Regina a moment to comprehend what she saw. After remembering that Henry was with them, and staring at his grandfather's head on a stick, she rushed to cover his eyes, but it was too late. Mary Margaret was covering her mouth with her gloved hands in shock. David couldn't believe it. He spotted a piece of paper dangling from Gold's head, approached the head to get a better look.

"Try me," he read from the note.

All of a sudden, Gold's eyes opened and he tilted his head as he said "Boo", scaring all of them half to death.

Gold started laughing as a grey cloud of magic surrounded him and left Emma behind. Everyone stared at her in pure terror. Emma was still laughing when she finally spoke.

"Oh my God," she said, gasping for breath. "Your faces… Priceless." None of them could form words. "What? You guys actually thought that was Gold? No, trust me – you'd be lucky to even get his head back when I'm done with him."

"Emma…" David said, choosing his words carefully. "Please, just talk to us. Why are you doing this?"

"Don't worry about it, dad," Emma said. "When this is all over, you'll be thanking me for ridding you of an annoyance."

"An annoyance?" Regina questioned. "And what might that be?"

Emma just glared at her. David could almost hear Regina mind click when she realized what it was. "Zelena…"

"What do you want with Zelena?" Mary Margaret asked.

Emma looked to the floor before looking up again. "It doesn't matter," Emma said. "She'll be dead before you can get to her."

"And how do you plan on finding her?" Regina asked.

"With this, of course," Emma answered, summoning Regina's strand of hair in her hand.

Regina's hand instinctively shot to the back of her head. "Wha-where did you get that?" Regina asked, her tone rising.

"That doesn't matter," Emma said. "What does matter is that, with it, I can find Zelena and finally end this."

Emma flicked her wrist and disappeared. Everyone stood in silence for a while.

"We need to get to Zelena first," Regina said. Everyone nodded in agreement.

* * *

 **GOLD'S PAWNSHOP, STORYBROOKE - A LITTLE WHILE LATER**

 **REGINA'S POV**

Belle reached under the counter of Gold's shop, and pulled out a map of Storybrooke. Regina pricked her finger on a spindle and allowed a drop of blood to fall onto the map. They watched as the blood began to flow from the spot where it had fallen to a point in the middle of the Western Woods.

"Well, you've gotta appreciate the irony," Regina said, rolling her eyes.

"Why is she there?" Robin asked.

"I have no idea but, whatever the reason, I doubt it's a good one."

"Alright everyone, let's head out," David said.

Regina, Robin, David, Mary Margaret, Arthur, and Belle all walked down Main Street, heading for the Western Woods.

"Can't I just 'poof' us in there?" Regina asked, finally breaking the silence.

"Regina," Mary Margaret said. "Your sister probably has the place booby-trapped."

"Fine," Regina agreed reluctantly. "But at least let me bring us closer to it."

Regina flicked her hand and they were a hundred metres from the where the map said Zelena was residing. They saw a little cottage in the distance and all turned to each other in confusion. Regina gave them a signal with her hand and began to approach the cottage. They stood outside the door, listening intently. They could make out muffle sounds followed by a soft bang. Right after the bang, they burst through the door and stared at what they found in shock.

It was Zelena, wearing her Ozian attire, sitting on a patched couch, with a cup of tea in her hands. She stared up at them in shock before reaching down to pick up the book that fell on the floor

"God, you gave me a heart attack," Zelena said finally.

"Uh, Zelena?" Regina asked.

"Yes, that's me," she said, nodding her head. "Who are you?"

* * *

 **EMMA'S HOUSE, STORYBROOKE - PRESENT TIME**

 **EMMA'S POV**

Emma twirled the flower from the Middlemist Meadow in her hand.

 _Tell me,_ Killian had said. _What do you see?_

 _Lots of flowers,_ Emma had replied.

 _Very good,_ he said, picking one of the flowers and handing it to her. _Now, what don't you see?_

Emma had looked around. _Rumplestiltskin… he's gone._

 _I had a feeling he might be. By trusting me with you burden, you've left no room from him in that head of yours._

Emma remembered being completely overcome with love in that moment and attempting some of his charm. _Well, now that we're alone…_ she had said, as he raised his eyebrow and as she leant towards his lips and closed her eyes.

They kissed for what felt like ages, eventually pulling away, gasping for air with their foreheads leaned on each other's.

 _Well, that was—_ Emma had said after a while.

 _Bloody hell, Swan, if you say 'a one-time thing'…_ Killian had interrupted with a cheeky grin.

Emma had allowed herself to let out a small laugh as she pulled him in for another kiss.

"I remember how it feels," Gold's hoarse voice came from behind her, pulling her from her thoughts and causing her to scowl. "The darkness. But you don't have to give into it. You could just set me free."

She turned to face him, staring at him. He was lying on the floor. She had used her magic to heal him before having another go at torturing him.

"I could do that," Emma said, nodding her head. "But that'd be no fun. Besides, I'm starting to enjoy having you as my piñata." She ended with a dark smirk. "Zelena should've told me how fun it was."

"What's your plan with her?" Gold asked curiously. "I overheard bits of your conversation with the demons in your head earlier."

"Nothing too drastic," Emma said. "Just, you know, going to use her to snuff out the light forever." Gold stared at her in shock. "Oh, come now, don't look at me like that. You've most certainly done worse."

"I'm not sure that that's true," Gold said, shaking his head. "You see, I was never weak enough to give into the urge to destroy the light. I never felt the need to vanquish light magic. Everything I did, I did for my son. Who are you doing this for?"

Emma tilted her head and looked into his eyes. "Myself."

* * *

 **ZELENA'S GROTTO, STORYBROOKE - PRESENT TIME**

 **REGINA'S POV**

"You…" Regina began. "You don't remember me?"

"No," Zelena said slowly. "Should I?"

"Yes," Regina said while she nodded. "I'm your… well… I'm kind of your sister."

Zelena stared at her for a moment before bursting out into laughter. "That's, uh, real funny," she said, recovering from her laugh.

Regina let out a sigh. "It's true. Look."

Regina plucked a hair from Zelena and placed it in a glass jar. She shook it a little until it began to glow green. Zelena jolted up from the coach.

"You can do magic?" she asked, staring in wonder at the glowing jar in Regina's hand. "I mean, I can do a little bit, but I wouldn't be good enough to do that." She took a second. "I suppose there's a _chance_ we could be sisters…"

"We are," Regina said, noticing how oddly reassuringly she had said it, but ignoring it. "My mother left you when you were a baby and you were sucked up in a green cyclone to Oz."

"Well, if that's true, why are you all here now?" Regina and the others turned to look at one another.

"We think you may be in danger."

"Oh," Zelena said, her face dropping. "Why do you say that?"

"Well, here's the thing, sis," Regina said, thinking of how to phrase her words. "You're kind of, well... pregnant."

* * *

 _ **A/N – Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. As you can see, we're getting a better look at a more sinister Dark Swan, which I hope you guys are enjoying. Also, this chapter includes a mention of the beautiful CaptainSwan scene in the Middlemist Meadow in "The Broken Kingdom". I'm also including a little side-story involving an encounter between Zelena and Emma that occurred in Camelot in my story, but not on the show. Chapter eight should be up soon.**_


	8. Merlin's Message

_**Side-note: Before reading this chapter, it may be a good idea to re-watch the fifth and sixth episodes of season five ("Dreamcatcher" & "The Bear and The Bow") if possible.**_

* * *

 **CHAPTER EIGHT – Merlin's Message**

 **GRANNY'S, CAMELOT – THREE WEEKS AGO**

 **EMMA'S POV**

"Next stop: Storybrooke," Rumple's voice laughed in her head.

Emma smiled. "Not yet," she said, and flicked her wrist to teleport out of Granny's.

She appeared in one of the hallways of Arthur's castle. She didn't have much time. Her curse would envelop the castle soon. She heard muffled voices from around the corner, one male, two female.

"Go get some rest, Zelena," Arthur was saying. Arthur's voice made Emma snarl as she peered around the corner. "We'll figure out how to reunite Excalibur tomorrow."

Emma saw Zelena standing in her witch outfit outside Arthur's throne room speaking with Arthur and Guinevere, who were standing inside the throne room.

"Fine," Zelena responded. "But you better hope—" Emma cut her off by using her dark magic to teleport her to the heart of the Caledonian Forest, which was where they had battled just hours earlier. The setting sun cast a strange orange glow through the tall trees.

"What the—" Zelena said before turning to face Emma. The look of confusion that appeared on her face was soon replaced by something Emma had never seen on Zelena: fear.

"E—Emma?" she questioned.

"Yep," Emma replied. "That's me."

"How the hell did THAT happen?" she asked, using her hand to point at her scaly skin and black leather outfit. "You seemed perfectly… well, not evil… earlier today."

"Things change. Listen, we haven't got much time so, as cliché as it sounds, I'm here to make a deal."

Zelena cackled. "Well I can see that you're clearly making your role as the Dark One your own. What are you going to do next? Start calling me dearie and fall in love with a bookworm?" Emma let herself smile at Zelena's sarcasm. However, Zelena's smile faded from her face when she heard thunder booming. "What the hell was that?"

"That's the sound of my curse."

Zelena gaped at her for a moment. "A curse? Well, now you're just copying me…"

"I'm not here to discuss plagiarism. I'm here to talk business."

"I'm afraid I'm not in the mood," Zelena said, curling the side of her mouth up and sighing. Emma rolled her eyes and waved her hand, making a sonogram appear in it. She held it out to Zelena, who took it reluctantly.

"What is that?" Zelena asked curiously.

"It's a sonogram. It's technology used in my world to show expecting mothers their children."

Zelena considered it for a moment. "Well, I suppose I could be willing to listen," Zelena said after a moment. "So tell me, o Dark Swan, what kind of trouble to you want to get into?"

Emma smiled. "Dark Swan," she said, considering it for a moment. "I like that. But I'm afraid we're getting into no kind of trouble today. I'm just here to make a deal."

"Bummer…" Zelena said shrugging. "Well then? What's this deal you keep talking about?"

"I'm glad you asked," Emma said, a dark smile spreading across her face.

* * *

 **ZELENA'S GROTTO, STORYBROOKE – PRESENT DAY**

 **REGINA'S POV**

Zelena stared at Regina for what felt like an hour. She eventually arched an eyebrow and looked down at her unswelled stomach, and then back up to Regina. She sighed.

"Right, well, okay," Zelena said after a while. "You should go. Father will be back soon and he wasn't in good form when he left."

Everyone stared at her curiously.

"Father?" Regina repeated. "You—you think you're still in Oz?"

"What do you mean 'still in Oz'?" Zelena asked, looking between all of them. "I never left."

Regina couldn't believe it. "Okay, Zelena, listen to me. Em—the Dark One—must have put a spell on you or something. You seem to have forgotten the past several years of your life."

"Was it part of Emma's curse?" Mary Margaret asked.

"I'm not sure," Regina answered. "This seems to be a special type of punishment for Zelena, but why?"

"Do you think we could use one of those memory potions? Like the one Hook gave Emma in New York?" David asked.

At the mention of Hook's name, everyone stared at the floor.

"Am I missing something?" Arthur asked after a moment. "Who is this 'Hook' person?"

"An old friend," David responded, looking up at him. "He passed away recently."

Arthur's eyes turned sympathetic as he put a hand on David shoulder. "It always hurts when we lose a good soldier."

David gave him a weak smile and nodded in agreement. After another moment, Regina spoke up.

"About that memory potion; yes, it could work, if we are able to scavenge together enough for it…" Regina's voice trailed off as she stared into blank space.

"Regina, what is it?" Mary Margaret asked.

"I think I know how to get ourselves one of those memory potions."

"How?"

"With this," Regina said, using her magic to summon the Crimson Crown in her hand. "Merlin can help."

* * *

 **HEART OF THE CALEDONIAN FOREST, CAMELOT – THREE WEEKS AGO**

 **EMMA'S POV**

"So, you'll allow me to keep this, what was it again? Sonogram? And you'll tell me the gender of my baby and keep it safe from Regina, Robin, and anyone else who may mean it harm…" Zelena said, trying to absorb the deal she'd just been offered. "If I agree to spend a few weeks out of your way in isolation."

"You have my word as the Dark One, and you should know that a Dark One always keeps their word," Emma replied. "You see, Zelena, you're quite important to my plan, but you're also quite powerful, and that makes you a threat… unless we can work together."

"And there are no strings attached?" In response, Emma threw her arms up in the air as if to say no, but purposely didn't tell her directly. Zelena didn't seem to notice.

"Very well, Dark Swan," Zelena said after a few more moments of consideration. She rubbed her stomach. "You've got yourself a deal."

"Excellent," Emma said and, before Zelena could say another word, Emma waved her hand and knocked her out.

Emma looked up and saw the purple mist from her curse make its way through the trees. Emma used her magic to teleport to the tallest mountain in Camelot to watch her curse ravage the land. This curse would not only wipe everyone's memories, but it would also return Granny's to its original placement in Storybrooke, as well as create a house that Zelena could not escape, though Emma wasn't sure where the house would be created, but she assumed she could leave it up to the heroes to figure out where she is.

Emma figured she might as well get revenge on Zelena for Neal while she was at it, since Gold had failed horribly. She would give Zelena a taste of what her happy ending could be; living with her baby without the interference of Regina and Robin, before taking it all away from her. She was so lost in her dark thoughts that she hadn't notice the purple mist of the curse completely swallow the castle and begin to pool at her feet.

"And straight on 'til Storybrooke," Emma giggled.

* * *

 **REGINA'S VAULT, STORYBROOKE – PRESENT DAY**

 **REGINA'S POV**

"God, where is he?" David impatiently enquired about Arthur. He, Regina, and Mary Margaret all stood over a cauldron simmering with ingredients in Regina's vault.

"Patience, Charming," Regina said, flicking through one of the spellbooks they brought back from Camelot. "If these spellbooks are correct, as soon as Arthur adds a Crimson Crown to the cauldron, he should be able to make contact with Merlin."

Almost on cue, Arthur's voice came from around the corner. Guinevere followed closely behind him. "Then we'll be speaking to him before you know it. David told us everything," Arthur said, nodding to David.

"And you're willing to help?" Mary Margaret asked hopefully.

"After everything you've done for us, it's the least I can do for you," Arthur answered, accepting the toadstool offered to him by Regina.

He was about to add it in before he stopped, obviously hesitant about something.

"What's wrong?" Regina asked. He looked up at all of them, seemingly considering something.

He nodded his head, and dropped the toadstool into the cauldron.

The white mist began to flow out as sparks flew from the cauldron. The mist turned purple as an image of Merlin appeared. The first thing Regina noticed about the background projected behind him was that he appeared to be in Granny's, confirming her suspicion that they freed Merlin in Camelot.

"Hello," Merlin's voice said. "I am leaving you this message in the case that things shouldn't go well today."

Regina was confused. "I don't believe this," she said. "We're getting Merlin's voicemail?"

"Emma has done as I had prophesized, and has released me from my prison in the enchanted tree." Relief washed over everyone's faces at his words. "She is doing well to resist the darkness, but doesn't seem eager to let it go. I can tell that she's already done something she regrets deeply." Everyone glanced at one another, curious as to what he meant. "The support of her family and friends, and especially that pirate, is most definitely keeping her on her path.

"Today, will be going to collect the final ingredient to reunite Excalibur with the Dark One's Dagger; the Flame of Prometheus. Once we are there, we will have to deal with the first Dark One. If Emma is able to resist the darkness, we will both return and be able to vanquish the darkness once and for all. However, if Emma succumbs to the darkness, she will kill me and take my power, and you will all be at the mercy of the most powerful Dark One ever. In the case that this does happen, I have left a book containing the most powerful spells ever cast. However, to open the book, you will need help from someone – the Author. He must use a special key to unlock the book and allow you to find a way to stop the Dark One, should this trip not go according to plan."

Merlin's image dissipated into the air and everyone stood around it, shocked. Regina was the one who broke the silence.

"Mary Margaret, David: find Henry. You two: look for that book. I'll keep an eye on Zelena."

* * *

 _ **A/N – Hey guys! Sorry about the slow chapter today. It's setting up something big that's about to go down in the next chapter. I would also like to apologize for not posting a chapter for a few days. A ton of work that I didn't have done caught up with me, and I barely managed to get it all done. But, from now on, chapters should be much more frequent. I had to change some of the events in this chapter around a bit, like the scene with Merlin at the end, which, in the show, was Merlin's message about Nimue. Anyway, I hope you guys are enjoying it, and feel free to leave a review, positive or negative, below. Chapter nine should be up shortly.**_


	9. The End of Light Magic

_**Side-note: It may be a good idea to re-watch the seventh and eighth episodes of season five ("Nimue" and "Birth") before reading this chapter, as many references are made to the two episodes.**_

* * *

 **CHAPTER NINE – The End of Light Magic**

 **EMMA'S HOUSE, STORYBROOKE - PRESENT TIME**

 **EMMA'S POV**

"Something's wrong…"

Emma stood in the basement of the house that Killian had chosen for the two of them to live in together. Gold was chained to the bars against the back wall. He was still unconscious. Emma had gone for a different look today. The snow white hair that she normally wore in a bun was pulled back into a loose ponytail instead. Her usual scaly leather attire was replaced by a tight, short black dress that she wore a trench coat over. She wore peach lipstick instead of rose red.

"What is it, dearie?" Rumple's concerned question came from behind her.

"It's Zelena," Emma responded. "When I added her punishment to the curse, it removed her memories of the last few years and isolated her in a house that she couldn't leave unless the spell around it was broken by blood magic, which Regina has done. However, I didn't realize that the price of this magic was that I wouldn't know where the house she was isolated in was. When Regina broke the spell, I could trace her essence once again. She went with them to Regina's vault, but now I can't sense her anymore."

"Could she have left Storybrooke?"

"Not with the curse active. Anyone who leaves Storybrooke turns into a tree."

"Oh, now that's clever."

"Thank you, dear," Emma said with a little smile. "Zelena and her child are vital to my plan. Luckily, my plan should remain on track so long as Zelena used the gift I gave her."

"What did you give her?"

Emma allowed herself to smile another dark smile. "Onion rings."

* * *

 **REGINA'S VAULT, STORYBROOKE - PRESENT TIME**

 **REGINA'S POV**

"Zelena?" Regina asked her sister as she nodded to Mary Margaret, David, Arthur, and Guinevere, who were exiting the crypt to go find Merlin's spellbook. Her sister's hand was frozen on the coffin of Regina's father. "Are you alright?"

Zelena looked up at her sister, her eyes full of fear, and Regina immediately became more concerned. "I…" Zelena began, placing a hand on her stomach. "I think I just felt the baby kick."

"Hey," Regina said, stepping towards. "It's okay. It's all going to be okay. Here, let me go get you something to drink."

Regina stepped out of her father's crypt and froze.

"What is it?" Zelena's curious voice came from behind her.

Regina turned around. "An extremely powerful protection spell has been cast over the crypt," Regina said, almost as though it were a question. "How is that possible?"

"Did you not cast it?" Zelena asked.

"No," Regina answered. "No one has magic this powerful. No one…" She trailed off.

"Regina?"

"Merlin," Regina said, looking back up at her sister. "I felt a burst of magic when we accessed his message earlier. Perhaps he protected this area from the Dark One."

"Well, that was rather helpful of him."

"Indeed. That means that all we have to do is keep you here until we can find a way to stop Emma."

Zelena's eyes turned cold as she grasped her stomach again, yelling in pain. It subsided a moment later. "It's alright, Regina. Just another—" She cut herself off with another one of her screams.

Regina ran to her sister to keep her upright. "Something's wrong."

* * *

 **REGINA'S HOUSE, STORYBROOKE - PRESENT TIME**

 **MARY MARGARET'S POV**

"Henry?" Mary Margaret called as she burst through the door of Regina's house with David.

"Yeah?" Henry replied after a little while.

He came down the stairs, rubbing his eyes from sleep.

"Do you want to save the day, Henry?" David asked, a smile on his face.

Henry immediately woke up. "What do you mean?"

"Get dressed," Mary Margaret said. "We're gonna need your expertise, Author."

A huge smile spread across Henry's face as he spun and ran back up the stairs, running back them a few seconds later completely dressed. "Let's go!"

David, Mary Margaret, and Henry met Arthur, Guinevere, and Belle at the camp where all of the people from Camelot were residing. Robin met them there. Arthur held up a thick, brown, hard-bound tome with a huge golden clasp on the front of it. Henry surveyed it for a moment.

"The key that sealed the last Author in the book," Henry said, eyes wide open in amazement. "That's what we'll need to open it."

"Where is the key?" Robin asked.

"I hid it back in the Sorcerer's Mansion."

"Well then," Mary Margaret said. "Let's go save my daughter."

They arrived at the Sorcerer's Mansion and Henry led the way up the steps. He brought them up the stairs within the house and pulled a lever to reveal the hidden room behind the wall. He ran over and went rooting in the drawers.

"It should be right…" he began. "Here!"

He held up the golden key. He inserted it into the clasp and turned it with ease. A bright light emitted from the clasp as it and the key faded away. They opened the book to find it written in an unfamiliar language.

"What language is that?" David asked.

"It's Elvish," Belle said, analyzing the book. "I could probably translate—"

She was cut off by the sound of Mary Margaret's phone ringing.

"It's Regina…"

* * *

 **STORYBROOKE HOSPITAL, STORYBROOKE - LATER**

 **REGINA'S POV**

Regina and Robin burst through the hospital doors with Zelena in a wheelchair, still clutching her stomach in pain.

"How the hell did this happen?" Robin asked Regina.

"I have no idea," Regina replied. "But I'm sensing very strong dark magic."

"Could Emma have done this?" David asked.

"Why the hell would Emma need to speed up Zelena's pregnancy?" Regina asked, not expecting a response.

They reached an empty hospital room, and lay Zelena in a hospital bed.

"Did someone scream for a doctor?" Dr Whale asked with a cheeky grin.

"She's going to give birth any second," Robin told Whale.

"You know," Whale began. "The last time I delivered a baby, you tried to steal it." He gave Zelena a look, who returned his look with a confused one of her own. "But why steal one when making one is so much more fun, right?" He reached his freshly gloved hand out to Zelena to introduce himself. "Dr Whale."

Regina, Robin, and Zelena all stared at him like he was mad. "We really need another doctor in this town…" Regina commented. Noticing his freshly-dyed white hair, she asked, "and what's with the dye job?"

Clearly a sensitive subject that has already been commented on, Dr Whale responded with, "So, Emma changes her hair, and no one makes a fuss, but I get ridiculed, yeah? C'mon… you know you like it?"

Zelena, clearly in extreme pain, was beginning to grow frustrated. "Oh my God, stop talking!"

"Alright, all business today. Got it. Uh, let's get those vitals going and get that baby out of you."

Regina rubbed her temples in frustration as Belle, David, Mary Margaret, and Arthur ran into the room.

"Everybody get ready," Mary Margaret said urgently. "We have to protect that baby from Emma."

"She's here?" Robin asked with concern in his tone.

"She will be soon," Belle said. "And, while looking for a spell to help stop Emma, we found another one."

"What spell?" Regina asked.

"The spell to destroy light magic," Belle told them.

"The only thing she needs other than Excalibur is…" Mary Margaret began.

"The cries of a new-born child," Regina finished.

"Well, she's not taking this baby," Robin said. "Not while I'm still alive."

Zelena nodded thankfully to Robin, and Whale asked everyone to leave. Regina worked on getting a protection spell up, not that it would be much help, Mary Margaret readied herself and her bow for battle, and David and Arthur brandished their swords.

"I can't believe it's come to this," Regina said to Mary Margaret after her spell had been put up. "Am I really helping Zelena?"

"She doesn't remember who she is, Regina," Mary Margaret responded.

"I know, I just—" She cut herself off at the sounds of a baby crying behind the closed door.

"It's time," Mary Margaret said. "Are you ready to meet the newest member of your family?"

"Honestly, I don't know."

Regina stepped into the door and saw Zelena covered in sweat and exhausted lying on the bed. She also saw Robin holding a little girl in his hand. The sight was enough to make Regina well up a bit. She knocked on the door.

"Robin?" she asked.

"Regina," he said with a smile, his voice a little shaky from tears in his eyes. "I have a daughter."

Regina walked towards them and put her hand on the baby's head. She looked over at Zelena, who hadn't looked at the baby yet. Regina felt horrible for Zelena and couldn't help the words that came out of her mouth.

"You can hold her, if you like," Regina said.

Robin gave her a concerned look which she ignored as Zelena turned to face her.

"Really?" Zelena asked.

Regina nodded to Robin, who reluctantly stepped over and handed the baby to Zelena. Regina couldn't help but smile at the sight. Zelena was rocking her baby back and forth in her arms, and Regina saw the first genuine smile she thinks she's ever seen on her sister spread across Zelena's face.

"Well, well, look who's glowing," came a female voice from behind them.

Everyone whipped around and was momentarily shocked by Emma's change of wardrobe.

"Congrats. I knew you wouldn't let my enchanted onion rings go to waste," she said.

Regina stared at her curiously but, before she could say anything, Robin drew his sword and pointed it at Emma. "I will not let you take this baby," he threatened.

"Not without a fight," Regina added.

* * *

 **STORYBROOKE HOSPITAL, STORYBROOKE - PRESENT TIME**

 **EMMA'S POV**

"Not without a fight," Regina told her.

Emma couldn't help but laugh. "Please the two of you have no hope of stopping me."

She waved both her hands and teleported every citizen of Storybrooke to Main Street, including the unconscious Gold. Everyone stood shocked at what had happened, but Emma just waved her hand to freeze each of them in place.

She took the baby from Zelena, who had been teleported there along with the hospital bed, and summoned Excalibur in one hand. She shook the baby violently for a bit to get it to cry, and allowed a tear from the baby to fall onto Excalibur's blade, enchanting it.

"Perfect," Emma said, licking her lips.

"Excellent work, dearie," Rumple said, admiring the sword. "You know what you need to do."

Emma nodded and raised the sword, focusing all her strength into it. She saw portals open all around her as light magic began to flow through them and into the sword. She could feel some of her own magic being absorbed into it, along with the light magic that was released by all the true love's kisses in this land and every other land, including Snow and Charming's, and Emma and Henry's. She could also feel the power of the fairies, including Mother Superior, being absorbed into the sword, as well as Elsa's ice powers. Emma could also feel the all of Neverland's power being absorbed by the sword, as the entire island was run on belief – very powerful light magic.

When it seemed like there wasn't any more to absorb, Emma lowered the sword. She couldn't stop her hand from shaking with the sheer power contained in the sword. She hadn't noticed it, but Nimue and the rest of the Dark Ones had joined Rumple in witnessing the snuffing out of the light forever. Emma nodded to them all before waving her hand to make Arthur appear next to her, chained to a chair. She looked back at the sword, realizing that Arthur alone was not going to cut it.

"I'm gonna need a bigger body," she noted.

She flicked her hand once more to cause Zelena to appear, chained to another chair, back to back with Arthur. She glanced once more at the Dark Ones that had assembled near her, cherishing the hunger in their eyes. She raised Excalibur.

Without warning, Emma was knocked back by a burst of light magic that had seemingly come from nowhere. She looked at the Dark Ones again, who were staring off behind her with shocked eyes. She shrugged it off and raised the sword once more, only to hear a familiar voice behind her that paralyzed her.

"Swan?"

* * *

 _ **A/N – Hey guys! This is probably one of the most important chapters. I hope you guys liked how Emma finally carried out her plan. We also had the introduction of an old friend at the end of the chapter. I plan to do flash backs for the next few chapters that will explain how it's possible that he's here. Also, as you can probably tell, I'm attempting a redemption-arc of sorts for Zelena and Arthur in this story, which some of you have said you wanted to see. Anyway, I hope you guys have been enjoying this story so far, and, as usual, feel free to leave a review below. Chapter ten will be available shortly.**_


	10. Welcome to the Underworld (Part I)

**CHAPTER TEN – Welcome to the Underworld** – **Part I: The Pirate's Arrival**

 **GRANNY'S, CAMELOT - THREE WEEKS AGO**

 **KILLIAN'S POV**

Killian watched as Emma prepared to unite Excalibur and the Dark One's dagger. She looked up at him, as if a bit apprehensive, and Killian used the chance to give her a reassuring nod. _I love you,_ he said in his head, hoping she'd hear it in her own. He felt a strange sensation at his neck, but brushed it off quickly.

Emma used her magic to draw a ball of fire from the Promethean Flame and hold it in the air as she picked up the two blades and held them up to the flame. Killian was pulled from his thoughts from another sensation at his neck, this time a piercing pain.

"Bloody hell," Killian couldn't help but say as he reached up to his neck, feeling his own blood pour out onto his hand.

"Hook, what's wrong?" David asked, pulling his attention from Emma.

"He's bleeding!" Mary Margaret exclaimed, also looking over to him.

Killian felt his strength leaving him as he fell to the floor. He noticed Emma turn her head and stop what she was doing to try to catch him.

"Killian?" she asked worriedly. Her hand reached up to where he was holding his neck. Killian was finding it hard to breathe. "No…"

"When did that happen?" Regina asked, now standing over Emma.

"It was Excalibur," Emma answered. "I—It was just a small cut. I healed it."

"I'm afraid it only seemed that way," Merlin added. Killian could barely make out what he was saying. "Excalibur was forged to cut immortal ties. A wound from it cannot be healed."

"What?" came Mary Margaret's worried question. "There has to be something you can do—that SHE can do!"

"Even Emma's power isn't strong enough, nor is my own."

"Killian," she said, the pain in her voice hurting him. "You have to hold on. I can't lose you."

"It's alright," he managed to say. It hurt him that she would have to lose him, after losing so many of those close to her, after he had promised that he would survive for her. "Emma, it's alright."

"Please, no... Don't leave me. You have to stay. You have to stay, Killian. What about our future together?"

"Our future is now," he said, trying to reassure her. "Reunite the blades so I can see them before I go."

He noticed a sudden wave of realization wash over Emma's face. "No."

"No?" he heard Regina repeat as a question.

"I'm not going to let him die when there's a way to save him." _What the bloody hell was she talking about?_

"Emma," Regina said calmly. "Merlin already said it. There's nothing you can do."

"That's what he said, but it's not true, is it?" Emma said as she turned to face the great wizard. "You told me how powerful I am. Let's use that power. I-I can use the Promethean Flame to release you from Excalibur and then I can use it to tether Hook's life to it instead. It could save him."

"Emma, you know what that could do?" he asked her.

"Create another Dark One," Killian heard Regina answer for Emma.

"It would multiply the darkness so that it cannot be destroyed," Merlin said. The rest of his words began to get muffled as Killian realized he was slipping.

"I don't care what happens to me," Emma said, as she turned to stare at Killian.

Killian closed his eyes as he heard the cries of Emma's concerned parents next to them. Regina also said something, at least he thought it was Regina. He noticed Emma's expression turn from worry to anger as she turned her head toward Regina.

"If you could have saved Daniel… or Robin, look at how far you were willing to go, how far you pushed me to save him. I'm not going to lose Killian." She shook the lapels of his leather jacket violently. "I won't let anyone stop me."

Killian felt the hard floor of Granny's turn soft and grassy. The smell of nature filled his nose as he opened his eyes once again to see Emma sitting over him, her face full of worry.

"Emma," he managed groaned weakly.

"Killian," Emma said with a small smile. "You're going to be okay."

"No, please," Killian whispered. He couldn't let her give into the darkness for him. She had worked too hard to resist it. He knew he wouldn't be able to. He knew he might end up hurting her. "You have to let me go."

"Wh-what?" Emma asked in disbelief.

"I don't want to pay this price," he muttered. "I don't want to become that."

"You won't," Emma's reassuring voice came. "You can fight the darkness; I can help you. We can do it together.

"I'm not as strong as you are, or Merlin, I'm weak," he continued. "The things I-I've done… I've succumbed to darkness before in my life, and it took centuries to push it away. I don't know if I can do it again."

Killian squeezed her hand tightly. He knew it would be the last time he'd get the chance to.

"But our future—"

"Emma, please. You have your family, your friends. You don't need me, not like you need them," he said, cutting her off, not being able to help his eyes closing slowly. "Besides... who knows what I'll do—who I'll hurt—if I can't resist it."

"Killian, of course I need—"

"Please Emma," he interrupted again. He couldn't allow her to go through with this. "You need to let me go. Please just tell me you won't do this, that you'll destroy the darkness, even if I won't be here to see it. I-I don't want you to give into your darkness for me. I want you to go on. You've got enough people left to live for. Just promise me one thing… Promise me you'll be happy, that you won't put that armor of yours back on."

"I…" Emma began. He noticed her stop. She was considering it. "I promise."

Killian was reassured with her promise. _I love you._ Suddenly, he began to hate himself. He'd never told her those words. He was sure she had figured it out, but how could she be sure. He had to tell her now before it was too late, before he'd never get the chance to hold her again. He closed his eyes fully and opened his mouth to say the words. His breath caught in his throat. _No. No. No. Not now. Emma, I love you._ He kept repeating the words in his head, commanding himself to say it, but his body wouldn't obey. Instead, the little bit of light that he could see faded away, as complete darkness was left in its place.

* * *

 **THE UNDERWORLD - THREE WEEKS AGO**

 **KILLIAN'S POV**

Killian felt the soft earth of the Middlemist Meadow turn cold and hard as he opened his eyes, expecting to see Emma, but didn't.

 _What the bloody hell is happening?_ he thought to himself.

He reached up to his neck, which was still cut. He stared at his bloody hand for a moment. He surveyed his surroundings.

He was lying on his back, just as he was in Camelot moments ago, except now he was in a stone alcove of a circular room. He stood up, needing to lean against the wall for support, and saw a torch burning in the center of the room. It was then that he felt it; the heat. It was boiling down here. He didn't care to look around any longer.

"Is this a bloody trick?!" he found himself yelling.

He went to take a step out of the alcove just as a voice came from another alcove.

"Stop," the voice came. It belonged to a young girl with long brown hair. She was wrapped in a tattered cloth. "That's exactly what it is; a trick. You'll never make it out of here."

"Where the bloody hell _is_ here?" Killian asked her, growing frustrated.

She gave him an odd luck. "Uh, this is the Underworld."

Killian stared at her for a moment. He had only ever heard of the Underworld through legends as the place where dead souls with unfinished business pass through.

"Why the hell am I here?" he asked impatiently.

"Well, clearly you've got some sort of unfinished business," she commented.

"That's not what I meant," Killian said, though he did not know what his unfinished business was. "I meant why are we in this dungeon?"

"These dungeons are usually held for special prisoners, prisoners that the boss thinks he can use."

"The boss?" Killian asked with confusion. "Who's your boss?"

"Oh no," she said quickly. "He's not _my_ boss. He just likes to think he's in charge around here. His name—"

She was cut off by a loud roar that came from the hallway to her right. Killian tensed up.

"What the bloody hell was that?"

"That," the girl answered. "Is the boss' pet. He guards the prisoners down here. I've been looking for prisoners to join me in an effort to escape, but no one has shown up here in a long while. I wonder why you're so special…"

"I don't have time to wait for reinforcements," Killian said, ignoring her warnings and stepping out of his alcove. "I need to get out of here."

Killian approached the girl and held out his hand. "You honestly believe me can make it?" she asked, staring at him with piercing blue eyes full of disbelief.

"Well, love," Killian replied. "I've been hanging around with a hopeful bunch as of late. Now, shall we get out of here?"

The girl smiled as she stood up and took his hand, stepping out of her on cue, the beast let out another roar.

"We have to go NOW," she said to Killian.

They ran out through an archway in the room and into a long corridor that stretched out for what looked like forever in both directions. They made the split-second decision to turn left, only to hear another loud roar behind them, forcing them to pick up the pace, despite the both of them being badly injured. The roaring got even louder, and neither of them could run any longer, so they turned to it, and Killian almost took a step backward in fear. _Almost._

Simply put, it was a dog. Except, it was a huge dog. With three heads. And burning red eyes. And sharpened incisors. Both Killian and the girl shared a look before starting to run again. He didn't notice her glance down at his hand, but when she did, she grabbed his arm to stop them. She detached his hook from his brace before he could do anything to stop her, and hurled it like a—what had Henry called it?—ninja-throwing star through the air. It hit the hellbeast's central head and knocked it over, giving Killian and the girl enough time to run away from it, but not before Killian exclaimed, "My hook!" like a petulant child.

Killian had finally lit the fire. He sat on a log next to the girl, who was staring at the cut on his neck.

"That looks pretty nasty," she said, wincing a bit. "I assume that's how you died?"

"Aye," Killian responded. "How did you die?"

She looked at him with squinting eyes, as if she was looking for a reason not to trust him.

"Well," she said, lifting up her bloodied top to reveal her hip—or, rather, where her hip should be. It had been bitten clean off. "Let's just say that that hellbeast wasn't always down here."

"That looks pretty… horrible," Killian said, wincing a little at the thought of that three-headed beast biting a chunk out of a young girl.

"Ah, it's not so bad," she said, obviously masking her pain. "Well, now that we've shared scars, perhaps we can share names." She held her hand out to him. "I'm Megara. My friends call me Meg."

Killian humbly took her hand in his own good one and lifted it to his mouth to kiss it. "Captain Killian Jones. My friends call me—"

"Jones?" she asked in disbelief.

"Aye…" Killian said slowly, not catching on to why she was in shock.

"As in Liam Jones' baby brother?"

Killian's breath caught in his throat. (If he wasn't so shocked at what she had just said, he would have questioned why it was that he still needed to breathe; he was, after all, dead.)

"Younger brother. And yes, I am. Did you know him back when he was still alive?"

"No," Meg said. "I know him because he's my commander down here."

Killian froze. "What? Liam's here?"

"Yeah," Meg went on. "He runs a small group of us called the Resistance. We oppose Hades' rule here."

"Hades?" Killian asked, catching on. "He's that beast's master?"

"Indeed," Meg answered. "We all work to oppose his rule here in the Underworld."

"How many of you are there?"

"Well, as you can probably guess, Hades tends to strike fear into a lot of us, so we've only got a small few. It was sixteen last time I counted, excluding me, the commander, and his wife."

Killian stared at her in disbelief before letting out a little chuckle. "My brother's married? Who's the unlucky lass?"

Meg shrugged, though Killian noticed she was obviously holding back a smile. "Some woman named Milah."

* * *

 _ **A/N – Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. This was a lot of fun to write. As you can see, I completely changed Megara's character from the way she was originally written. I hated how she was written as a damsel-in-distress type of character, especially because she was such a great character in the original Hercules movie. Anyway, we'll be seeing Liam and Milah in the next chapter, as well as finding out more about Killian's return to Storybrooke in the next few chapters, which I hope you're all looking forward to. Make sure to leave a review below! Chapter eleven should be up soon.**_


	11. Welcome to the Underworld (Part II)

**CHAPTER ELEVEN – Welcome to the Underworld – Part II: The Reunion**

 **THE UNDERWORLD - THREE WEEKS AGO**

 **KILLIAN'S POV**

Killian stared at Meg, who had turned her head to face the fire, with curiosity for what felt like forever.

"Milah…" Killian began, struggling to find words. "…is here? And married to my brother?"

Meg turned her head to look at him and nodded her head with her lips pursed. All of a sudden, she burst out laughing.

"What?" Killian asked, a blush of embarrassment forming on his cheeks.

"I'm so sorry, Killian," Meg said. "I just had to see your reaction. God, she spoke about you non-stop for so many years. She and Liam have been good friends since the day they met, but no, they're not married."

Killian didn't feel as relieved as he thought he needed to be. He wasn't as horrified at the thought of Milah with Liam as he thought he would have been. Killian let out a little chuckle as he stared at this strange, strange girl.

Then, her words hit him. "Wait… for so many years? How long have you been down here?"

The girl let out a mixture of a laugh and a sigh as she turned her head back to the fire. "Well, people don't age here in the Underworld. I died about fifty years ago in the Enchanted Forest."

Killian was shocked. "What?"

"Yeah," she went on. "I was born there around fifty years ago. I went out for a walk in the woods one day, but went out much farther than I had expected to, and encountered Cerberus. As I was running away from it, I ran into this boy who was on his way to face the beast. He told me to keep running and that he would finish off the monster, but soon after, the beast caught up with me. I assume he took the boy too."

"Right…" Killian said, indicating that she should go on.

"Well, when I showed up here, this place was a fiery burning hell-hole in which everyone was subjected to a life in tiny cages that hung from the black sky. Then, everything changed. One day around thirty years ago, Hades reappeared after he had disappeared for a little while, and used a powerful crystal to change the look of the Underworld completely. Now, it looks like a strange village, like none present in the Enchanted Forest."

"Do you know why he did it?" Killian asked her.

"No. He simply worked his magic, and disappeared again, though I saw something in his eyes that day. Perhaps it was hope, though I'm not sure.

"Anyway, we were all released from our cages and free to roam the new village. That's when I met Milah. We bonded over a few weeks by sharing stories from our lives. By that point, she had been down here long before me. She told me about her husband, Rumplestiltskin, and her son, Baelfire. She would not shut up about you, Killian – do you mind if I call you Jones?" Killian gave a slow nod to the girl's sudden question. "Good. Anyway, she told me how she ran away with you as the two of you fell love. It took her a while before she could talk about it, but she eventually told me about her death."

Meg's words made Killian look towards the ground. "I failed her, failed to protect her."

Meg put a hand on Killian's shoulder. "I'll be having none of that, Jones. If there's one thing I won't tolerate in the Underworld, it's self-pity. We're all dead anyway."

Killian let out a small chuckle. "What happened next?"

Meg took a heavy breath. "Well… we just spent the first few years doing our part down here. Milah helped children attending school down here, to try to help with her unfinished business – her son. She felt bad for abandoning him with his father, so she thought that, by helping the kids down here, she could finish what she needs to get out of here." Killian turned his gaze towards the ground, upset by the fact that he was a partial cause as to why Milah was stuck here. "Oi, Jones. Eyes up here. No self-pity, remember? Good. Anyway, I spent why time working in a sculpture shop. Eventually, Milah and I met Liam.

"He had been working in a bar nearby that neither of us had paid much attention to. One day, we stopped by for a drink, and Milah and Liam immediately clicked. She found out he was your brother, who you had spoken about rarely, and the two bonded. They're just friends, but you should seriously see the way Liam looks at Milah. I guess you Jones brothers got good taste."

Killian let out another laugh. "I suppose we do."

He realized Meg was staring at him as if expecting an answer to an unasked question.

"What is it?" Killian asked.

"What's your story, Jones? I wanna hear everything."

"It's quite a long story…"

"Well, it's not like you have anywhere to be. You _are_ dead."

Killian smiled. "Alright. Well, after Milah died, I spent several hundred years attempting to avenge her death and kill Rumplestiltskin—"

"Yeah, we've heard the tales of those who met their untimely demise at the hands—or should I say hand—of 'Captain Hook'," Meg joked. Killian glared at her. Her smile faded away. "Sorry. Continue."

"Right, well, in order to get my revenge, I needed a special dagger, so I went to Neverland to find it, where I also didn't age—"

"Well, that was _handy_ ," Meg butted in, nudging his arm with her elbow. Killian glared at her again. "What? It was a good pun."

"Aye… and one that I have heard too many times in my long life. Now, love, if you shall be so kind as to let me continue without the running commentary, I would be most appreciative."

"You got fire, Jones. Alright, no more interrupting."

"Well, eventually I returned to the Enchanted Forest, and continued to try and get my revenge. To get it, I teamed up with the Evil Queen's mother, Cora. She agreed to take me to a land without magic where I would finally be able to get my revenge on the Crocodile. In my efforts to attain a magical compass, I met Emma Swan. Though I didn't want to accept it first, there was something between us." Killian's memories of his beanstalk climb with Emma flooded through his head. "Eventually, I accepted that it was love."

Meg smiled a little at this. "I think Milah will be overjoyed that you were able to find love."

"Really?"

Meg nodded. "Well, what happened next?"

"Next? I fought for her heart. If I thought it took me a while to accept my feelings, it probably took twice as long for Emma to accept hers. I knew I had to prove to her that I was worth her love, so I helped her save her son, I brought her home, I traded my home for her—"

"What?"

"Oh," Killian said with a little smile. He reached up and scratched behind his ear. "Don't tell Liam, but I traded the Jolly—uh, the Jewel of the Realm for her."

"Really? You sold the only thing you could have called home for the past century for this Emma person?"

"I figured that anywhere she could call home, I could too."

Meg smiled, and placed her hand on her heart. "That's, like, really sweet."

Killian chuckled. "I suppose it is, isn't it? Well, she finally gave me a chance and let me in, and it worked. She fell in love with me. However, just as she was ready to admit her feelings, she became the Dark One in order to save her family and friends."

At his words, Meg tensed up. "The Dark One?"

"Aye, but has been fighting off the darkness since she took it. To give her some incentive to keep fighting the darkness, I chose a house for the two of us to live in together when we got back to Storybrooke. But, as you can see," he went on, indicating towards his neck. "I was cut while fighting a stubborn king and, well, now here I am."

"I'm so sorry," Meg said.

"It's alright though," Killian said, making Meg tilt her head in confusion. "I told her that I'd be happy knowing that she had her future in front of her, and I told her—well, actually I didn't get the chance to tell he I love her."

Meg stared at him in shock for a moment. "You… you never told her you love her?"

"Well, it was implied, but those exact three words were never said, no."

"The littlest things can keep us trapped down here, Jones."

"You think that that's my unfinished business?"

"I think there's a great chance that it could be." Meg paused for a moment, before allowing a smile to appear on her face. "But I also think it's time for a Jones brother's reunion, though it may be best to warn you now; I'm a stickler for tearful reunions…"

Killian chuckled as he and Meg helped each other to their feet, and began to walk through the forest.

* * *

 **THE UNDERWORLD - THREE WEEKS AGO**

 **KILLIAN'S POV**

"Bloody hell," Killian exclaimed as they walked down Main Street. "Why the hell does the Underworld look like Storybrooke?"

"Storybrooke? The town Emma's from?" Meg asked.

"Aye, the very same. This is extremely odd." Killian's curiosity faded away as he grinned as he realized where she was taking him. "Some things never change," he said as he stared at Granny's.

He opened the door and held it open for her, the gentleman that he was. He looked around and saw the back of their heads in one of the booths in Granny's. One of them had their long brown hair pushed back into a ponytail. The other's black hair had grey streaks in it. Milah laughed at something Liam said.

"Wait here," Meg instructed him. Killian did just that.

Meg approached the table, and Killian could just about make out the conversation.

"Well, how are the two love birds today?" Meg asked with a flirtatious smirk on her face. Killian could almost _hear_ Milah blush, and almost let out a laugh when he saw Liam's right hand reach up and start scratching behind his ear. "I made this really awkward, didn't I? Sorry, as you two know, I tend to do that."

"Is there a point to you being here, Meg?" Milah asked quickly. Killian found himself not only smiling at how long it had been since he heard her voice, but also how red in the face she was.

"Oh, yeah, right," Meg said. "We have a new addition to our Underworld family!"

"It's not another one of those Queens of Darkness, is it?" Liam asked. "I cannot stand Cruella."

"I don't know," Meg said smiling. "I mean, he doesn't look like a Queen of Darkness to me but, hey, whatever he's into…" She indicated for him to come forward and Killian did just that, except with a shy smile on his face.

Everyone was silent for a moment. Milah and Liam gaped at Killian for what felt like forever. "K-Killian?" Liam asked, stepping out of the booth and putting his hand on Killian's shoulder.

"The one and only," Killian said with a cheeky smile.

Liam pulled Killian into a tight embrace. Killian opened his eyes to see Meg whimper at the sight, fanning her watery eyes with her two hands in an attempt to keep tears at bay. After another few moments, Liam pulled away and cleared his throat. He frowned as he caught sight of the wound on Killian's neck, which Meg had tried tidy up on their way here.

Killian looked over to Milah, who hadn't said anything at all. She had just stared at him in awe. After Liam took a step back, Milah got out of the booth and hugged Killian as well.

"It's good to see you, Killian," Milah said shakily.

"It's good to see you too," Killian added.

"Who is she?" Milah said with a smile after pulling out of their embrace.

Killian was slightly taken aback by her question. "What?"

Milah scoffed. "Please, the great Captain Hook is in the Underworld after all these years? You wouldn't have let yourself die if you didn't have anyone to die for and, since Rumple isn't down here, I assume it was for someone a little more… special."

Killian reached back and scratched his ear, realizing the awkwardness of his situation. However, Milah pulled him into another hug and said, "That's great, Killian."

Killian was about to answer when he heard the door to Granny's open and turned his head to see who it was. "Bloody hell," he said as he approached the small human, who was staring at a pickaxe in his hand. "You're one of the dwarves, aren't you? Sneezy, is it?"

"Yes, that's—" he said, but stopped himself when he looked up. "Wait, Hook?"

"Aye… how the bloody hell did you get here?"

"The Dark One killed me."

Killian glared at him in confusion. "Rumplestiltiskin is in a coma."

"Oh, Rumplestiltskin didn't kill me. Emma did."

* * *

 _ **Hey guys! Thanks for reading this chapter. I hope you're all enjoying this little detour from the main story. I think that Meg's reaction to Killian and Liam reuniting is one of my favourite things I've written, just because I'm pretty sure many of us had similar reactions. Anyway, now that Killian is aware that Emma is killing people, he's probably going to do everything he can to get back to her. Anyway, the next chapter should be up within the next few days.**_


	12. Welcome to the Underworld (Part III)

**CHAPTER TWELVE – Welcome to the Underworld – Part III: Defeating Cerberus**

 **THE UNDERWORLD - THREE WEEKS AGO**

 **KILLIAN'S POV**

 _Emma did._

The dwarf's words kept ringing in Killian's head. Killian didn't—wouldn't—believe it. He just stared at Sneezy in disbelief.

"Emma?" Meg asked from beside him. She turned her head to Killian. "As in Emma Swan? The woman you sold your ship for?"

"You did _what_?!" Liam asked with a raised tone.

Killian ignored them. "Are you sure?"

Sneezy was taken aback by his question. "Am I…? Of course I'm sure it was her!"

Killian was really struggling to find words. "Emma wouldn't hurt anyone, let alone kill them." Killian frowned. "Wait, you were in Storybrooke while we were in Camelot. How is it possible that she killed you?"

"Well, everything was fine in Storybrooke while you were gone but, six weeks after you left, Granny's reappeared in Storybrooke. Myself and Sleepy were on duty at the time, and went inside to investigate and found everyone who left for Camelot—minus you—inside of it… Except their memories of the last six weeks seemed to be gone."

"Gone?" Killian repeated. "How?"

"Well, from what I could gather in the moments before I died, Emma used the Dark Curse to wipe their memories and return them to Storybrooke."

"Why did she have to wipe their memories?"

"I don't know. What I do know is that the Emma that appeared in Granny's moments after was not the same Emma we had seen six weeks ago. She was a lot more sinister, but she sounded happy to be evil."

"But…" Killian began, not sure how to continue. "When I, well, died in Camelot, she promised that she would go on and destroy the darkness without me."

"Well, clearly she didn't keep her promise because, when one of my sneezes—which I'm not even in control of, by the way—interrupted her, she walked up to me and waved her hand, and here I am."

Killian stared at the dwarf, trying to identify the lie in his words, but couldn't. Instead, he decided what it was that he had to do.

"I need to get back to her," Killian said sincerely before walking out of Granny's, with Liam and Milah calling after him.

Someone grabbed his arm before he could get away from Granny's, and turned him to face them. Killian was expecting it to be Liam, but it was Meg.

"Where the hell do you think you're going, Jones?" Meg asked him, concern in her voice.

"I have to get back to her," Killian repeated.

"I get that, but you can't leave the Underworld. You're dead, remember?"

"Of course I remember. I just… This is all my fault. If I could have just—"

"HEY!" Meg yelled loud enough to silence the pirate. "No self-pity. God, you really hate yourself, don't you?" Meg sighed loudly. "Look, I've been searching for a way back for years. It's not possible."

"If the past few years of my life have taught me anything, it's that just about anything is possible."

Meg stared at him curiously for a moment. "You really believe that, don't you?"

"Aye, I do."

"Alright. We'll help you find a way out of this place."

"Thank you, Meg."

"No problem and, besides, if…" She trailed off as her attention turned to something—someone—behind Killian. Killian turned to see a boy, probably Meg's age, walk past them, stopping slightly when he saw Meg's face. He couldn't take her eyes off her and Killian smiled to himself. The boy shook his head and walked away, but not before sneaking another glance at Meg, and Killian swore he saw Meg blush.

"Did you just… blush?" Killian asked, unable to stop himself from smiling.

She whipped her head back to him, her face red with anger.

" _What?!_ " she asked in frustration. She instantly calmed herself. "No."

Killian just smiled and nodded. "If you say so, love… So? any ideas how to get out of here?"

Meg took a moment. "Well, before we get out of here, we'll have to take care of Hades." Before Meg could say anything else, she was cut off by a loud roar from down the street. "Oh, and him."

They both walked onto the path outside Granny's to see Cerberus near the library. Killian noticed something glistening on the forehead of the beast's central head. Realizing it was the glistening of his hook, which was only loosely embedded in the beast's head, Killian held up his brace and pointed to it, saying, "Oh, and, love, I want that back."

Meg rolled her eyes and drew her sword from its sheath as Killian drew his cutlass.

"What the devil was that?" Liam asked as him, Milah, Sneezy, the boy who Meg blushed over, and everyone else came out of Granny's to see what was going on. The boy froze when he saw the beast.

Killian found himself spouting out orders without really thinking about it. "Liam, Milah; get everyone to safety. Meg; you're with me." Liam and Milah shared a quick look of uncertainty before nodding and guiding people away from the beast, which was now staring at Killian with each of its three pairs of eyes.

"Any battle plan?" Meg asked, smiling a little.

"Erm, hit it with the pointy end?" Killian responded, which earned him a little laugh from Meg.

The beast began its advance on them, taking small steps towards them. Meg and Killian also began walking towards it, hearing Liam and Milah's shouts behind them for people to get to safety, not that the beast could kill them anyway; they _were_ already dead, to be fair. However, what Meg and Killian, or Milah and Liam, didn't notice was that the boy from Granny's was walking up to the beast from behind them as well.

The beast began to pick up the pace, a snarl appearing on each of its heads. It then broke into a run, causing Killian and Meg to nod to each other. As it got within a step of them, Killian and Meg took a step to the side and out of its way, and simultaneously raised their swords vertically so that the blade sliced through the surprisingly soft neck of the beast, beheading two of its heads. The beast turned its central head to Meg and roared loudly, causing her to fall to the ground. Before Killian could do anything about it, he turned to a yell that came from behind him, and saw the boy from the diner running towards the beast's remaining head. Before Killian could try to stop him, he jumped up and glided through the air, towards the head, yelling for the beast to turn towards him. It did, and the boy's boot smashed into Killian's loosely-embedded hook on the beast's head, driving it straight through its head, causing it to cripple up and fall lifelessly to the floor.

"Woah," Meg said after a long silence. She turned to the boy and got lost in his brown eyes once more. "Uh… I suppose I should thank you."

"There's no need," the boy said with a small smile. He came over and offered Meg his hand, which she graciously accepted, and allowed him to pull her to her feet. "I'm Hercules, but people around here have taken to call me Herc for short."

"I'm Megara. Most people just call me Meg, though," Meg responded.

"Well, it's an honor, Meg," Herc said, lifting her hand to his mouth to kiss it, causing that blush to reappear on her face. "I hope I get to see you again."

"Me too," Meg agreed, her smile growing larger. He stared at Meg with eyes that Killian knew all too well for a few more seconds before walking off.

"Oh, you've got it bad, Meg," Milah said as she and Liam approached the two of them.

Meg turned to them, curiosity on her face. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing," Milah answered with a smile.

"Well, love?" Killian asked as he turned to Meg. "What now?"

Meg sighed loudly. "Well, we've got Cerberus out of the way. Now, we have to do something about Hades. We need to find a way to kill him."

"And how do you suggest we do that?" Liam asked.

"I have no idea. Perhaps—"

"The bloody storybook!" Killian cut in. Meg glared at him with eyes that made Killian wince. "Sorry…"

"What 'bloody storybook'?" Meg asked, imitating Killian almost as badly as Emma had once.

"Well, there's this book that a lad I know has filled with stories about all of us. Every detail about us."

"I assume this 'lad' you know is alive though," Liam pointed out. "How do you plan to get his storybook?"

"We won't be able to get his copy of the book, but there may be a different version of the book—an Underworld edition—down here somewhere, although I haven't the slightest idea where…" Killian trailed off.

"What?" Milah asked.

"I think I know where it is."

* * *

 **THE UNDERWORLD - THREE WEEKS AGO**

 **KILLIAN'S POV**

"It's in there?"

Meg, Killian, Liam, and Milah stood outside the Underworld version of the Sorcerer's Mansion in Storybrooke.

"Aye," Killian said. "In the original house, there was a secret room filled with blank storybooks. This might just be where we find the Underworld edition of the book."

"Yeah, there's just one problem with that," Liam said as Killian was about to take a step towards the mansion.

"What's that?"

"That house is sealed with a powerful spell, and the sheriff has the key."

"Who's the sheriff?" Killian asked.

"Uh, some lying selfish bastard named James."

"He sounds lovely."

"I can get us the key," Milah added.

"What?" Killian and Liam asked. "How?"

"Let's just say we have… uh… a past."

"What?" Killian and Liam repeated.

"It's a long story. Just give me an hour or two and wait here."

Neither Killian or Liam had time to respond before she ran off.

"You know, when a woman says she's got a history with some guy, it's never a good thing," Meg said.

"Thank you for that, Meg," Liam said sarcastically. "Thank you."

"So, just who is this James fellow?" Killian asked after a long while of the three of them sitting on the ground, leaning against the bushes that surrounded the mansion.

"Well, he's extremely full of himself," Liam answered. "You can hardly tell that he's related to a noble prince."

"A noble prince?"

"Yeah," Liam said. "Some ex-shepherd from the Enchanted Forest. I think his name was also James… or David… or something."

"Wait… David?" Killian asked. "Bloody hell."

 _I had a brother too, you know,_ David had said as he and Killian trekked through the dark forest of Neverland. He was clutching his side in pain as the Dreamshade poison made its way to his heart. _He died before I ever met him._

 _Two of you?_ Killian had said. _I can barely stomach one._

David had let out a little laugh. _Oh, you would have liked him. He was a thief and a liar._

Further reminiscing was interrupted by Milah, who Killian noticed strolling towards them.

"Well?" Liam asked.

Milah smiled and held up a silver key. It shone in the moonlight, and Killian could make out a star-design on it.

"Do I want to know how you got it?" Liam asked, a hint of jealousy in his voice.

"Why?" Milah teased. "Are you jealous?" At that, Liam's face reddened. "Relax, I just… occupied… him for long enough to spike his drink and rob this."

Relief washed over his face as Liam took the key and began to walk towards the door, with Milah following close behind. Killian and Meg shared a secret smile before following. They walked up the steps and Liam put the key in the keyhole and turned it, visibly lowering the magical barrier around the house.

They entered the foyer where a chandelier hung elegantly. Killian was pleased to see that the house looked pretty much the same as it did in Storybrooke. However, the house was covered in spider webs that made Killian wonder if all spiders with unfinished business come here when they are killed by people. Most of the furniture was also covered in white sheets.

"Follow me," Killian said, indicating with his arm. They walked up the stairs and down a narrow corridor. At the end of the corridor, Killian reached up and pulled one of the lights on the wall, causing the wall to turn and reveal a secret room.

"Well, that's dandy," Meg said with a smile as they stepped inside.

The room also looked the same. The tall bookcases that hung to the walls of the hidden room were filled with empty storybooks. There were also glass display boxes covered by white sheets in the centre of the room.

"Let's get searching," Liam said in a commanding voice that made Meg and Killian snigger and Milah smile.

Killian, Meg, and Milah searched the bookshelves for any book with something written in it, while Liam checked the cases in the middle of the room.

"Come check this out," Liam said after a while, causing them all to turn to him. He had pulled a sheet of one of the display boxes and taken a wooden box out of it. Killian walked over as Liam opened the box to reveal Henry's storybook, _Once Upon a Time_.

"Is this it?" Liam asked.

"Aye, that's it alright," Killian answered.

Liam took the book out of the box and began to scroll through it.

"Well?" Meg asked from the floor where she and Milah were picking up books that had fallen down. "How _does_ one kill the god of death?"

Killian stared at the page before him. "With something called an Olympian crystal." He froze when Liam flicked forward a few pages. "And… Zelena?"

* * *

 _ **A/N – Hey guys! Thanks for reading this chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it. I just wanted to let you know that this new chapters are going to become a weekly thing. A new chapter will be released every Sunday (Onceday) from now on.**_

 _ **Just on another quick note, I'm aware that in 5x07 ("Nimue"), the events of which are canon in this fanfic, Killian told Emma that there was a "piercing-eyed, smoldering pirate here who loves you", which I suppose does count as him telling her that he loves her, but he only really implied it, he never straight-up told her the three words. Basically, I needed a reason for him to be in the Underworld, and this is the best I could come up with…**_

 _ **Anyway, see you next week for the next chapter!**_


	13. Welcome to the Underworld (Part IV)

_**Side-note: Before we get this chapter underway, it may be a good idea to re-watch the thirteenth and twenty-first episodes of season five ("Labor of Love" & "Last Rites") if possible, as many references are made to the episode.**_

* * *

 **CHAPTER THIRTEEN – Welcome to the Underworld** **–** **Part IV: Uncle Hades**

 **THE UNDERWORLD - THREE WEEKS AGO**

 **KILLIAN'S POV**

"Zelena?" Meg asked, walking over to look at the page. "Who's Zelena?"

"The Wicked Witch of the West," Killian explained. "She seems to have a past with Hades. Look."

He used his good hand to point to a picture in the storybook that showed Zelena, in all her green-glory, speaking to Hades in what seemed to be Oz.

"How do you know her?" Milah asked.

"She's the sister of the Evil Queen, Regina."

"Really?" Meg asked, studying Zelena on the page. "You wouldn't know to look at her. She's… green."

"What does it say about the two of them?" Liam asked, ignoring Meg.

"It says that Hades was fascinated by Zelena, and travelled to Oz to meet her, where he fell in love with her."

"Wait. Hades? In love?" Milah questioned. "I don't think that's possible. He doesn't have a heart."

"Actually," Liam said, reading from the page. "He _does_ have a heart, but it was stopped by his brother, Zeus, when he was trapped here in the Underworld. The only way for it to start beating again and for him to be able to leave the Underworld permanently is to kick-start it with True Love's Kiss."

"That must be why he went after Zelena," Meg deduced. "He wanted to use her to free himself from the Underworld."

"And she was the closest thing to love that he could find," Milah continued.

"But now what?" Liam asked. "Zelena isn't dead. She's not down here."

"She mightn't be," Killian said. "But this Olympian Crystal might. We just have to find it."

"Chances are, Hades has it in his throne room," Liam said.

"Do you know where it is?" Killian asked.

"Indeed," Liam said. "But, more importantly, I know how to get to it."

"Alright then," Meg said. "Let's go."

"Wait," Liam yelled, extending his arm to grab hers before she could run. "We can't just waltz into the throne room of the Lord of the Underworld and take the one thing that can kill him. He'll most likely have the crystal protected by dark magic. We need time to think of a plan."

"Liam's right," Milah added. "We should spend a little while planning this out. It's important that we get this absolutely right."

Killian looked to the ground in disappointment. He was hoping he'd be able to get this all done in one day, and get back to Emma today, but Liam and Milah were right. They need a plan.

"Well then," Meg said, releasing her arm from Liam's grasp. "Let's get planning."

As they were walking out of the room, Killian noticed one of the lights under a white sheet in the secret room flickering. He didn't remember seeing it flickering before.

"Go on ahead," Killian said, turning to face the lamp. "I'll be right behind you."

"Be careful," Liam said, before he, Milah, and Meg shared a look and walked out of the room.

Killian approached the lamp and pulled the white sheet off it. He looked under the lamp's shade, and found that the lamp wasn't on. The glowing was coming from something else; a thin object under the lampshade. Killian pulled it out and immediately recognized it as the Author's pen.

"What the hell?" he asked, though no one was there to answer him. He wasn't sure why the pen was calling to _him_ , but, nevertheless, he put in his back pocket for later.

* * *

 **THE UNDERWORLD – THREE WEEKS LATER**

 **MEG'S POV**

"Ready?" Meg asked as she pulled her new purple jacket on.

"I believe so, love," Killian responded, locking his hook, which he had reclaimed from Cerberus, into his brace.

The four of them—Meg, Killian, Liam, and Milah—had taken up residence in the apartment that belonged to a living woman named Mary Margaret, according to Killian. It wasn't exactly big enough for all of them, so Killian was forced to sleep on the couch, Meg in the bed downstairs, Milah in the bed upstairs, and Liam on the couch upstairs. Herc had also joined their resistance, though wasn't staying with them.

"Does everyone know their roles?" Liam asked from in front of a whiteboard that he'd set up to create their plan.

"Yes, we do," Meg said, with a little sigh. "But you're going to run them by us again anyway."

"Thanks for that, Meg," Liam said, glaring at her a little. "Alright, Killian and I will use the storybook pages to lure Hades out of his throne room. This will allow Herc, Meg, and Milah to sneak in to the room through the elevator in the library and search for the crystal. Chances are it would be somewhere near him; at his side, perhaps. Any questions?"

"Nope," Meg said, popping the 'p'. She looked around. "Now then, can we go?"

They all left the apartment and made their way down Main Street. Meg looked up and saw Herc making his way towards them.

"Herc!" Meg called out, making his face immediately light up.

"Meg!" Herc returned, increasing his pace to reach them quicker.

"Are you ready for this?" Meg asked him.

"Honestly, I don't know," he answered. "But I'll protect you both at all costs."

Meg blushed a little at his statement and nodded to Killian and Liam, and headed towards the library. Milah opened the door for them, and followed them inside. They got into the elevator, and Herc pressed a well-disguised button on the wall before stepping into the elevator. Each of them had to grab the wall of the elevator as it sped down the shaft to the depths of the Underworld.

When they finally reached the bottom, Herc pulled up the railing and stepped out, stopping them from advancing with his hand.

"I'll scout our path," Herc said. "Wait here."

Milah must have noticed Meg beaming at Herc, because, once he was out of hearing range, she said, "Oh, Meg, you've got it _real_ bad."

"Excuse me?" Meg said.

"You and Herc," Milah said. "You've been beaming at each other ever since you first met, and neither of you are making the first move."

"I don't beam," Meg responded.

"Why won't you just say you're in love?" Milah asked.

Meg gaped at her for a few moments before a blush spread across her face. "I am _not_ in love."

"Who the helldo you think you're kidding with that nonsense?" Milah insisted. "You look at him like he's the earth and heaven to you…"

"He is _not_ …" Meg struggled to continue. A smile suddenly spread across her face as she decided to change the subject. "Well, speaking of 'not saying you're in love', how are things with you and Liam?"

Milah froze. "What are you talking about?"

"Please," Meg said sarcastically. "Who do you think _you're_ fooling? If you think I've got it bad, you've got it well worse."

"Things are complicated," Milah responded quickly. "Besides, Killian is here."

"Yes, and Killian has moved on," Meg pointed out. "Maybe it's time you did too."

"With his brother?" Milah asked. "There's just something really wrong with that."

Meg was silent for a moment. "Yes," she said finally. "Yes, there is. But, hey, love can bloom in the strangest of places."

Milah smiled as she watched Meg search the darkness for Herc. "Does that mean you'll say you're—"

"Not out loud," Meg interrupted with a smile.

"Well, it's a start," Milah said.

"Uh, ladies?" Herc called from the shadows before getting close enough that they could both see him. "We're all clear. Let's go."

Meg and Milah followed Herc through the darkness where they began to hear the muffled playing of a violin. After a while, they reached a large opening in the cave. Meg had to stop to marvel at it for a moment.

It was a huge room with walls of stone, and an elevated stone circle in the centre of the room. There were five rivers that flowed out of the circle: one was green, which Meg immediately recognised as the River of Lost Souls; another was light blue; one was a fiery red, which Meg assumed was lava; another was clear, which Meg assumed was water; and another was a misty grey that Meg didn't recognize.

Meg looked to centre of the room where Hades' throne was. He wasn't there. Killian and Liam must be distracting him.

"We probably don't have long," Milah said. "Let's get searching."

Meg and Herc both nodded and got searching. They checked in the wardrobes that were placed oddly in the room. For such a smartly-dressed guy, Hades was pretty sloppy when it came to interior decorating.

"Well, well," an intimidating voice came from behind them, making Meg and Herc whip around to be face-to-face with Hades. "I didn't think either of you were stupid enough to sneak in here."

 _Either of you?_ Meg wondered. She tilted her head slightly and couldn't see Milah. She had been searching Hades' throne, and must be hiding behind it, out of Hades' line-of-sight.

"We can't allow you to go around tormenting people down here anymore," Herc said, instinctively stepping in front of Meg.

"Now, now, Hercules," Hades taunted. "Is that anyway to speak to your uncle?"

Meg was about to burst out laughing before she turned to Herc and saw the pain on his face that seemingly confirmed Hades' statement.

"Herc?" Meg asked.

"I'm sorry, Meg," Herc replied, refusing to look at her. "I would have told you… I just… didn't want you to hate me."

"Hate you?" Meg questioned. "Of course I wouldn't hate you for being Hades' nephew."

Herc finally looked up at her. "Are you being sarcastic?"

Meg rolled her eyes. "I'm serious, Herc."

"Awww, you two are so sweet," Hades cut in. "It's a shame I'll have to break you two up."

With the flick of his hand, Hades had brought Meg and Herc with him to a different cave. This one had a thin stone pathway stretching out over a boiling sea of lava.

"Welcome to the Cave of Judgement," Hades said with a smile. He stepped towards them, forcing Meg and Herc to take a step back and onto the narrow pathway. "Here, you will be judged and, if you are unworthy or, in other words, haven't solved your unfinished business, your soul will be lost in the lava below. No moving on. It's a fate worse than death, and quite a clever invention on my part."

"Please, uncle," Herc begged, continuing to back away as Hades advanced towards them.

"MEG!" someone called from behind Hades. "HERC!"

Meg looked up to see Killian and Liam run into the cave. However, Hades used them as a momentary distraction to send out a wave of magic that, despite Hercules blocking most of it with his shield, pushed the two of them to the edge of the spire. Hades flicked his hand as fire from the lava pit below came up to encircle them. He laughed and disappeared in a burst of blue flames. Killian ran over to them, but was halted by a wall of fire.

Herc looked at Meg and opened his mouth to say something, but was stopped by the flames around them dying out. The stone pathway they were on extended as it reached the other side of the pit, where the rock face of the wall opened to reveal Mount Olympus, the place where Meg and Herc belonged.

"What's happening?" Meg asked.

"We've… we've completed our unfinished business," Herc said, almost like a question.

Meg gaze fell from his face to his arm, which was still protectively holding onto her, and noticed a bracelet on his wrist, one that she had seen before.

 _Go! Keep running!_ the boy had said as he urged her to run far away from the beast that had been chasing her. Meg had looked in the direction that the boy was pointing to with his right arm, and dully took note of the bracelet around his wrist.

Meg couldn't form words as she looked between the bracelet and Herc's face. How hadn't she seen it before?

"Meg?" Herc asked. "What's wrong?"

"It… it was you," Meg managed to say. "You were the boy who tried to save me from Cerberus."

Herc looked confused for a moment, before his eyes widened in shock. "That… That was you?"

"Yeah…" Meg said, putting all together. "Which must mean that…"

"…Defeating Cerberus was both of your unfinished businesses," Killian finished for her. "You could have moved on from here four weeks ago."

Meg shrugged and began to walk towards Killian and Liam, which somehow shocked them.

"What are you doing?" they both questioned.

"What?" she asked, just as confused as they were. "I'm not going to move on from here and leave you both to face Hades alone."

"We won't be doing it alone," Liam told her. "I have Killian and Milah… wait, where is Milah?"

"Oh, yeah," Meg said. "Hades didn't see her. She's still in his throne room."

"Bloody hell," Liam said, running towards the entrance of the cave, but being stopped by Hades.

"Where do you think you're going?" Hades asked angrily, causing Liam to back away.

"Meg," Killian ordered. "Get out of here. We've got this."

"Killian, I'm not—"

"Meg, please," Killian begged while Liam kept Hades occupied. "You've done enough. We can take care of Hades. You deserve to get out of here."

"But—"

"Walk through that doorway right now, Meg, or so help me, I will have Herc drag you through it."

Meg was about to say something, but stopped and turned to look back at Herc, who looked towards the floor.

"Fine," Meg agreed, huffing a little. "But on one condition."

"And what might that be—" Killian didn't get to finish his question as Meg came over and wrapped him in a tight hug.

"You be careful, Jones," Meg ordered as she pulled out of the hug, pointing a stern finger at him. "And make sure you get outta this place."

"I promise," Killian said, taking her hand to his mouth and kissing it, making Meg roll her eyes.

"Always the gentleman, huh?" Meg said.

"You betcha," Killian agreed with a smile. "Now get out of here."

Meg walked back over to Herc, who nodded and waved at Killian, before turning back to the pathway to Mount Olympus. Meg took Herc's left hand and began to walk towards the light, only turning back once to see Killian smiling back at her. Meg kept that image of Killian in her head as she turned towards the light once more and ran into it with Herc, not looking back once more.

* * *

 _ **A/N – Hey guys! Well, we finally said goodbye to Meg in this chapter. I have to say, Meg was probably my favorite character to write for.**_

 _ **Also, I'm aware that technically it's not told from the direct points-of-view of the characters, but it's told as if they were narrating themselves and their thoughts, if you get me…**_

 _ **I'm also not sure if you noticed, but there was also a little Easter egg in Meg and Milah's conversation about Herc that referenced the song 'I Won't Say (I'm In Love)', which is sung by Meg in the Disney movie Hercules, and one of my favourite Disney songs.**_

 _ **The next chapter (which is also the penultimate chapter) will be up on Wednesday, and the final chapter will be up next Sunday.**_


	14. Welcome to the Underworld (Part V)

_**Side-note: Before we get this chapter underway, it may be a good idea to re-watch the fifteenth and twenty-first episodes of season five ("The Brothers Jones" & "Last Rites") if possible, as many references are made to the episode.**_

* * *

 **CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Welcome to the Underworld – Part V: The Brothers Jones**

 **THE UNDERWORLD – MOMENTS EARLIER**

 **MILAH'S POV**

"Awww, you two are so sweet," Milah heard Hades interrupt Meg and Herc. "It's a shame I'll have to break you two up."

After all three of them vanished in a blue flame, Milah stepped out from her hiding spot behind Hades' throne. She thought about following them, but knew that she should use Hades' absence to her advantage. She let out a cry of pain as she accidentally hit her foot off the bottom of the throne, but froze when she heard a hollow sound.

"No way," she whispered as she felt along the regal chair looking for a way to open it.

She let out a small laugh when she found and pressed a button underneath one of the armrests that opened a panel at the base of the chair. She looked into it, and saw a slot for holding a crystal. She took the crystal out and examined it. There was a handle made out of a substance that Milah couldn't identify, and two jagged crystals sticking out of both ends of the handle, almost like a double-edged sword.

Milah smiled, closed the panel, and walked out of the cave. As she left the throne room, she turned back to a 'poof' sound, and saw Hades sitting in his chair once more. He clicked his fingers, causing one of his servants to appear beside him and begin to give his foot a manicure. Milah rolled her eyes in frustration, and turned to walk back to the elevator, but was interrupted by Hades standing up suddenly.

"No…" he uttered as he disappeared once again, leaving the maid all alone.

Milah waited a few moments to make sure he wasn't going to appear near her, and turned to finally walk away when she heard the clock in Hades' throne room tick twice. Milah smiled, knowing full well that it meant two souls had left this realm, and had moved on to a better place. She clutched the crystal a little tighter in her hand.

"Goodbye, Meg," she whispered, taking a moment for her friend.

After a few moments, Milah walked back to the elevator and took it back up to the library. She walked out onto Main Street, expecting to find Killian and Liam, but couldn't see them anywhere. Remembering what the tick of the clock means, she turned on her heel, and ran as fast as she could towards the Cave of Judgement.

She ran through the cave until she came to the large opening, and found Killian on his own, being pushed towards the edge of the cliff by Hades.

"You and your band of miscreants are done interfering with my carefully laid plans," Hades snarled. "I'm sick of you Resistance fighters trying to kill me. You can't. _This_ is death."

"Well, I guess we'll just have to find whatever's worse and do it to you," Killian counteracted before noticing Milah, who held up the crystal, nodded to him, and began walking towards Hades, who had his back to her.

"I suppose that, after how hard you've fought, it's a pity you won't be able to get back to your Emma," Hades told Killian. "Or, as she goes by now, the Dark Swan."

Killian gaped at him for a moment. "What?"

"Mmmhmmm," Hades nodded. "And she has a lot more to do. In fact, she just opened a portal to my domain to allow all the previous Dark Ones to pass over into the world above."

"She would never—"

"Oh, but she would," Hades interrupted. "She's no hero anymore."

Before Killian could say anything, Milah shoved the double-edged crystal into Hades' body, causing him to cry out in pain and disintegrate into dust in a fiery blue flame.

Milah looked back up at Killian, who was obviously in pain over what Hades had said, but noticed something.

"Killian?" Milah asked. "Where's Liam?"

Killian gave her a weak smile as he turned his head back towards the lava.

* * *

 **THE UNDERWORLD – MOMENTS EARLIER**

 **KILLIAN'S POV**

Killian smiled at Meg as she looked back at him. She turned back and ran into the light with Herc. The portal closed and the path collapsed behind them.

Killian turned back to Liam and Hades, who had advanced as far as the entrance to the Cave of Judgement. Hades looked over to Killian, and looked behind him, hoping to see Meg.

"Where are they?" he asked.

Killian smiled and pointed to the wall where the portal to Mount Olympus had opened.

Hades looked as though he would tear the two of them apart, limb by limb, at that moment but, remembering how classy he believed he was, he composed himself and smiled.

"So, tell me, Hook," Hades said, grinning a little. "Are you aware of why your brother is down here?"

Liam looked at Killian before looking to the ground in disappointment.

"What are you talking about?" Killian asked with confusion.

"Surely you've wondered how a soul as pure and selfless as your brother's ended up stuck down here for all these centuries."

Killian opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out.

"Here, why don't you ask them?" Hades asked before waving his hand causing a group of men to appear in the cave with them.

Killian didn't recognize them for a moment, but his eyes widened in shock when he realized it was Captain Silver and his crew, who died on a journey to find the Eye of the Storm.

"What the bloody hell are they doing here?" Killian asked, looking between Hades and Liam, the latter of which couldn't bring himself to look at the men.

"I told them why they're down here," Hades answered. "And they're not too pleased."

"Your brother isn't as self-righteous as you may believe," Silver said, stepping forward.

"What are they talking about Liam?" Killian asked, turning to Liam.

"He traded our souls to Hades for the Eye of the Storm," Silver explained.

"What?" Killian uttered. "How is that even possible?

"It's true," Silver told him, continuing his advance towards them.

"Liam," Killian pleaded. "Please tell me there's another explanation for this."

"I'm sorry, Killian," Liam said, his tone having risen slightly. "But I didn't have any other choice. I had to do what I could in order to save us."

"You… you lied to me," Killian said, anger bubbling inside him.

Hades stepped out of the way as Silver continued to inch closer. "And now, it's time to walk the plank," he said.

"I'll gladly walk it," Liam said, stepping in front of Killian. "Just spare Killian please. He has nothing to do with this."

"He should have gone down along with the ship," Silver said. "Like the rest of us, and now, he finally will."

Liam turned and looked Killian in the eyes. "I'm sorry, Killian," he said. "I wanted to be the perfect example for you… to inspire you."

"All you did was raise the bar so high, the only thing I could do was fail," Killian told him angrily.

"No more talking," Silver yelled over them. "Time to face justice, boys."

"Gladly," Hades said, stepping in front of him. He breathed out in Silver's direction, and caused him to fall off the edge of the path and into the flaming sea below. "That guy just bugs me. And now for the brothers Jones." Hades turned his attention to Killian. "At last, we'll finally see the end of Captain Hook, and this time you won't be able to protect him."

"No," Liam said, stepping towards Hades. "I won't let you hurt Killian."

"Fine," Hades said. "Have it your way."

Hades let out another breath, this time in Liam's direction, and he went flying through the air, over Killian's head.

"No!" Killian yelled, as he reached out to grab Liam's hand.

He managed to grab it, but fell to the ground with Liam's weight. He lay on the spire with his arm over the edge, holding Liam's hand as he hung in the air.

"Liam, please, hang on," Killian begged.

"I'm sorry, brother," Liam said. "Can you forgive me for what I've done?"

"Yes," Killian told him. "But that's not what's important. You need to find a way to forgive yourself."

"I can't," Liam said. "Not after what I did to you. The only way to make amends is for me to pay the price."

"No!" Killian exclaimed as Liam released his hand and fell towards the fire below. "Liam!"

Killian stared at the lava as his brother disappeared into it. He looked over to Hades with eyes that were close to releasing tears, only to find him sipping a glass of wine smugly. Then, Killian heard wind blowing and felt the sea breeze flow through his nose.

"What's happening?" Killian asked as the portal opened in the wall behind him.

"No…" Hades uttered while backing away slowly.

Hades raised his hand to teleport away, but the light being emitted from the portal seemed to stop him from doing that. He was paralyzed.

Killian turned to see Liam in a boat beside him, floating on water that had come from nowhere.

"Liam…" Killian managed to say. "You're safe?"

"Yes, it appears I am," Liam said, looking at the boat with as much confusion as Killian. "I suppose this is the sacrifice I should have made long ago, and now I can finally depart."

Killian wanted to tell his brother to stay, but he knew that Liam deserved to get out of here as soon as possible.

"Then go…" Killian said, before looking over to the rest of the crew. "All of you. Now that you finally know the truth, your unfinished business is complete as well."

They all glanced over at Hades, who was still paralyzed by the portal. They all nodded to each other.

"Then get on board, men," Killian ordered as they all made their way over to boat and hopped on with Liam.

"Killian," Liam said. "Please, be careful fighting him." He took a breath. "And tell Milah… Tell her I'll see her on the other side."

Killian nodded and took his brother's hand, shaking it firmly. "I will," he promised.

"And don't worry about reaching that bar anymore, Killian," Liam ordered. "You've become a true hero in a way that I never could. Goodbye."

"Goodbye, brother," Killian repeated.

He watched as Liam and the men on the boat began floating towards the portal. The pool of water that had appeared began to lower down in the pit of the cave and turned into lava once more.

Killian took a moment before turning back to Hades, who was freed from his paralysis.

"Oh, how touching…" Hades said angrily, stretching his arms out after being frozen. "You heroes are much too forgiving of one another."

"Aye," Killian said. "That we are."

"You know what…" Hades began. "You and your band of miscreants are done interfering with my carefully laid plans. I'm sick of you Resistance fighters trying to kill me. You can't. _This_ is death."

"Well, I guess we'll just have to find whatever's worse and do it to you," Killian said back to him.

He noticed something glistening behind Hades, and looked over to see Milah holding the Olympian Crystal. She nodded to him, and began to walk up behind Hades.

"I suppose that, after how hard you've fought, it's a pity you won't be able to get back to your Emma," Hades said. "Or, as she goes by now, the Dark Swan."

Killian couldn't help but gape at him. "What?"

"Mmmhmmm," Hades nodded in agreement. "And she has a lot more to do. In fact, she just opened a portal to my domain to allow all the previous Dark Ones to pass over into the world above."

"She would never—"

"Oh, but she would," Hades interrupted him. "She's no hero anymore."

Killian opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by the shrill screech that came out of Hades mouth when the Olympian Crystal was plunged into his chest by Milah. They both stared in shock as he disintegrated into dust.

Killian stared at the dust that used to be Hades, noticing something glistening inside it. He didn't feel Milah's gaze on him until she spoke.

"Killian?" Milah asked. "Where's Liam?"

Killian couldn't help but give her a weak smile, and turn his head back to where the portal had appeared.

"He, uh, sacrificed himself," Killian said, turning back to Milah, who looked like she might start crying. "But his sacrifice helped the crew we once sailed with. They finally moved on thanks to him."

Milah's face lit up with hope. "Wait, did he move on too?"

"He did," Killian told her. "And, now that Hades has been defeated, we can too."

Milah nodded, and bent down to fish out a small piece of the Olympian Crystal that had been glistening in Hades' remains.

"Just in case we need to bargain with the gods," Milah reassured him.

Killian held out his good hand to her, and she took it. They turned to where the portal should appear and walked along the narrow path. Milah stopped when she felt Killian stop walking.

"Wait," he said. "What about everyone else down here?"

"I'm sure they'll figure out he's is gone soon enough," Milah told him. "Things should get back to normal then. People will be able to finish what they need to and get out of here."

Killian nodded and they both began to walk back along the path. The path connected to the wall on the other side of the boiling sea, and a portal emitting a bright white light opened in front of them. They walked towards it together. They shut their eyes when the light got too bright, but didn't stop walking. When they opened their eyes, they were in a long, bright hallway with large pillars supporting a non-existing ceiling.

"Hello Killian. Hello Milah," a voice came from behind them. They both whipped around to see a man dressed in a simple white toga.

"Who are you?" Killian asked, protectively standing in front of Milah. "What do you want?"

"I want to thank you," the man said. "Thank you both. Thanks to you something very important has been done. The Underworld is now a safe place for people to carry out their unfinished business and move on. You have both defeated the… misguided… god of death—my brother—Hades."

Killian and Milah shared a look before Killian spoke. "Zeus."

"Indeed," he said. "And I am here to escort you both onward. Milah, if you please."

He held out his hand to her and she took it. She knew what he meant; they both did. She turned and looked at Killian with teary eyes.

"Goodbye, Killian," she said to him.

"Goodbye, Milah," Killian said, smiling a little.

Milah looked back at Zeus, who waved his other hand, causing Baelfire's confused spirit to appear between two of the pillars.

"Bae?" Milah asked hopefully.

The man also named Neal stared at her for what felt like hours before speaking. "M-Mom?"

Milah ran over and wrapped her arms around Neal, who hugged her back tightly and spun her around.

"I'm so sorry," Milah said over and over as tears streamed down her face.

"It's okay," Bae told her, and their two spirits dissolved into the air.

Killian let a tear fall out of his eye. It may have taken a few centuries, but he finally helped reunite Milah with her son, just as he had promised her all those decades ago.

Zeus turned back to Killian. "Are you ready, Killian?"

Killian instinctively began to scratch that spot behind his ear. "Well, actually, I was wondering if it was possible for you to take me to Emma Swan. She has strayed quite far from her path, and I know that I can help her get back on it."

"My power will take you to where you belong, where the universe determines you are to be," Zeus explained. "I do not have a say in the matter."

"Oh…" Killian said, looking towards the ground.

"Now then, are you ready?" Zeus asked again.

Killian looked back up at him, and considered it for a moment. He knew that Emma would want him to move on from the Underworld, and not wait for her to show up there, but he couldn't help but feel guilty.

 _I'm so sorry, Emma,_ he thought as he made up his mind.

"I am," Killian said.

Zeus smiled lightly and put his hand on Killian's shoulder. "Then it's time to take you where you belong."

He led Killian a little bit along the hallway before stopping, and using his hand to indicate that Killian needed to travel the rest of the way alone. Killian kept walking but stopped, very close to reconsidering his decision, but couldn't get Emma's voice out of his head.

 _Move on from here._

So, he did just that. He kept walking, and didn't look back. He felt the floor disappear beneath him, and Killian got this feeling as though he was falling, but he wasn't. Instead, he felt a strange burst of magic that made him wince.

However, when he opened his eyes, he was on the Main Street of Storybrooke – the real Storybrooke (Killian could tell because there wasn't an orange tint to everything). He closed his eyes and thanked Zeus—thanked the universe, really—for giving him this chance, before opening his eyes to survey his surroundings.

Everyone he'd ever met in Storybrooke was frozen on the street. He could see Mary Margaret, David, Belle, Henry, Regina, Leroy, and others among the crowd. They were staring at a figure with white hair and their back to Killian holding a completed Excalibur in front of a group of Dark Ones in cloaks.

 _Could it be…?_ Killian thought as he looked at the figure.

The Dark Ones had clearly not anticipated his arrival, as they had tensed up among catching sight of them, and something in their eyes told him that they desperately didn't want the figure holding Excalibur to notice him.

Then, the figure raised Excalibur to a chained up King Arthur, and Killian had to know for sure.

"Swan?"

* * *

 _ **A/N – Hey guys! Well, there we have it: this chapter finally reveals just how Killian got back to Emma in the first place.**_

 _ **I felt inclined to give everyone from the Underworld chapters their proper send-off, so Meg, Herc, and Liam all moved on the same way they did on the show, and Milah was reunited with her son. I'd also like to apologize for the lack of Cora or Cruella (though she was mentioned earlier) or any other key characters from the Underworld arc in the show in the Underworld part of the story, but I just couldn't find room for them. I think I should also apologize for how I handled Hades' death, because I know that it wasn't great…**_

 _ ****** **On another important note, I need you guys to completely disregard everything I said in the last chapter about the final chapter coming next. I had originally planned it that way, but have given it some more thought, and decided to continue the story past them. So now, there will be two more chapters, then an intermission-chapter of sorts which deals with the fallout of the next two chapters (which were originally planned as, and still written as, the end), and then I'll take a short break to prepare the storyline for the next couple of chapters. I suppose you could think of it as a mid-season finale of sorts.** ******_

 _ **Chapter Fifteen will be up on Saturday, and Chapter Sixteen will be up on Sunday. The Intermission will be posted on either Monday or Wednesday.**_

 _ **I'd also like to thank you guys for sticking with this story (because I know it's a little rocky in some places) and urging me to continue writing it.**_


	15. The Fall of the Dark Swan? (Part I)

**CHAPTER FIFTEEN: The Fall of the Dark Swan? – Part I**

 **MAIN STREET, STORYBROOKE – PRESENT TIME**

 **EMMA'S POV**

"Swan?"

His words echoed in her ears. They paralyzed her entire body. It wasn't possible. He was dead. He couldn't be here. It wasn't possible. It wasn't possible. It wasn't—

"Emma?" his soft voice asked again. "Is that you?"

Emma felt tears forming in her eyes. She was finally able to turn slowly, and there Killian stood. She gazed into those beautiful blue eyes that she thought she would never see again. He had tears in his eyes too, tears that threatened Emma's to fall. Clearly, he didn't expect to be here.

"Killian?" she managed to whisper.

She wanted to run to him. She wanted to hold him, she wanted him to her. She wanted to kiss him like her life depended on it. But she couldn't. Emma now realized: she had let him down.

 _Please tell me you won't do this,_ his words echoed in her mind. _I don't want you to give into your darkness for me._

Killian's wet eyes drifted from her eyes to the shaking Excalibur in her hand and it hit Emma. He wasn't real. It was a trick. Someone had cast a spell – a vision of Killian in her mind.

"Aye, love," he said, his voice shaking. "It's me. I'm back."

He was so real. _It_ was so real. Emma wanted to believe it, but she had come too far to stop now.

"No," she said. "No, you're not."

He gave her a wounded look, one that also hurt Emma, one that forced her to look away from him.

"Emma, look at me." His words were so soft. "It's really me. I'm really here."

He took a step towards her, but she raised Excalibur defensively.

"No," she managed to say again. "You're not. This is a trick. You're meant to make me feel sorry for what I've done, to make me want to stop. Well, I won't fall for it." Emma waved her hand and froze Killian—what she didn't want to believe was Killian—in place. "I've done too much for my plans to be stopped by a mere trick."

Rumple's spirit let out a laugh of relief as Emma lifted Excalibur to Zelena and Arthur once more. She stared at Arthur's face. He was sweating in his heavy armor. His blue eyes were full of fear. He didn't want to die, especially not at the hands of someone with his own sword. Emma basked in his fear. He had taken Killian from her, and nothing, not even a realistic glamor, could bring him back to her. Arthur's blue eyes were pleading her not to do this. For some reason, Arthur's eyes made Emma turn to Henry, who was staring at her with Neal's eyes. Anger flooded Emma's emotions as she turned to Zelena.

"Go on," Rumple's spirit told her. "It's time."

Emma nodded and raised Excalibur to Arthur. She took one more look at Killian, whose eyes were also pleading her to stop. It was a look that Killian had given her many times before that almost made her not continue. It almost made her drop the sword and run into his arms. It almost made her free everyone and release the light magic from the sword it was now tethered to. _Almost._ Emma took a breath and plunged the sword into Arthur's chest.

Emma let out a breath as she felt the light magic being absorbed by Arthur's body. All light magic had been destroyed. She looked up at the Dark Ones' spirits near her, expecting to see evil grins and hear maniacal laughter coming from all of them, but she didn't. Most of them were grinning, sure, but Rumple and Nimue were frowning, their brows furrowed in confusion. Emma tilted her head at them in confusion before realizing what they were confused about, but asked with a coy smile nonetheless.

"What?"

"You said the light magic needed to be contained in two vessels," Rumple said. "You missed Zelena."

"Oh, right," Emma said, pulling the bloodied Excalibur out of Arthur's lifeless body. She smiled and licked her lips. "Oops."

She raised the enchanted Excalibur once more and used it to draw the darkness out of the Dark Ones' spirits. The tendons of darkness flowed out of all of them and into Excalibur, leaving nothing behind. The sword began to shake once again when they were all gone, this time with the darkness. She looked down at Zelena and gave her a wicked smile. Emma thrusted the sword forward once again, the dark blade penetrating Zelena's chest.

Emma felt the darkness that should have been destroyed start to flow through her. Her plan had succeeded. Everyone was released from their frozen states as Emma doubled over in pain, her fists clenched. The darkness began filling her body. It buzzed up her arm from the sword and all over her body. She could feelher heart blackening. She yelled out in both pain and pleasure as she straightened up and extended her arms, causing huge black swan wings to extend out of her back.

Everyone stared at her in awe as they observed her new wings. Emma had no idea where the _hell_ they came from. They felt strange, like an extra body part on her back. Emma was a little disorientated at first, not quite sure how to control them.

"How…?" Mary Margaret asked, not sure how to continue. Emma looked at her mother and smiled at her.

* * *

 **STORYBROOKE – ONE HOUR EARLIER**

 **EMMA'S POV**

Emma stared at the crystal ball as she finally willed it to show her Zelena's location. Regina was helping her out of her crypt.

"Zelena is being rushed to hospital now…" Emma said, running her finger along the potions she'd used on Excalibur to prepare it for what she was about to do.

"Excellent work, dearie" Rumple's spirit said. "I'll meet you at the pond. Do you know what you need?"

Emma looked over at Gold, who lay in an unconscious heap on the ground. "The blood of a man who has been to hell and back."

Rumple giggled before disappearing from her mind. Emma immediately began working on another vial of magic: one that would give the sword another enchantment – it would turn the sword into a conduit. She would use it to destroy light magic first, but use it to absorb the darkness from all the Dark Ones who came before her.

Emma let out a mixture of a sigh and a laugh. It was finally time. Everything she'd done over the past four weeks was finally paying off. She would become the most powerful Dark One ever, if the magic she had already absorbed from Merlin didn't yet ensure that. It would also get Rumple out of her head finally.

She poured her freshly-brewed vial of magic onto Excalibur, watched it glow for a moment, and nicked Gold's arm with the blade to get some of his blood on the blade. She then teleported to the pond where the Fury had tried to drag Robin Hood to hell.

"Shall we?" Rumple suggested as he reappeared in her mind.

Emma nodded and dipped the top of the blade into the water that reflected the orange sky that was colored by the setting sun. Emma only had a moment to examine her reflection, which accurately reflected her in all her Dark One glory, before a large ripple was sent out from the point in the water the sword was dipped in.

A cloud of smoke emerged from behind the trees across the lake and Emma felt something she hadn't felt since she lay with Killian in the Middlemist meadow in Camelot – fear. A boat emerged from the smoke carrying what Emma guessed was at least eighteen Dark Ones. The boat stopped in the centre of the lake and one of the Dark Ones stepped out. They walked towards Emma and Rumple, and Emma offered them her hand to help them up. They pulled off their mask to reveal their identity.

"Nimue," Emma acknowledged.

"We're here," Nimue said. "All of us, as promised, in the flesh." She turned to Rumple. "And now it's time to get to work; to do what Dark Ones do best: snuff out the light."

Emma smiled and held out her hands to show off the immediate area. "Welcome to Storybrooke."

* * *

 **STORYBROOKE – PRESENT TIME**

 **EMMA'S POV**

Everyone continued to stare at her wings, waiting for her answer.

"It was always the plan," Emma explained, marvelling at her wings. "I turned the sword into a conduit for the darkness, so that, instead of destroying it, I moved it… into myself, which means I now hold the combined power of every Dark One who ever lived."

"Emma, please," Killian's voice said, and Emma turned her head to look at him. "Let us help you. There's nothing you can't come back from. You taught us all that."

Emma snarled at him, before choosing to ignore him. _He's not Killian,_ she told herself. _It's not possible._ She looked away.

"Well, now that I've succeeded," Emma said. "I have no need for these anymore." She waved her hand and dreamcatchers appeared in everyone's hands. "You can have these back."

She focused her magic into the dreamcatchers and allowed the memories stored within them to be restored to everyone who had had them taken. Once all of the dreamcatchers were drained of the memories they held, Emma waved her hand to disintegrate all of them.

Everyone stared around at one another as their memories of the past six weeks began to flood into their heads. Emma stood there, waiting for someone to talk. Instead, someone—probably the red-heat Scot—shot an arrow at her.

Emma wasn't really sure what happened. It all happened so fast. From what she could gather, she had turned slightly when she heard the arrow being released from the bow, and began to raise her hand to catch it. Instead, she instinctively moved her left wing to block it for her. However, the arrow wasn't able to penetrate the feathered surface of the wing. Instead, it hit off it with a metal 'clang', and broke, falling to the floor in pieces.

"Woah," Emma exclaimed, looking back at her wings. "I could get used to these."

"That's it!" Regina yelled, causing everyone's attention to turn to her. "You've had your fun. But now it's my turn."

"Turn to do what?" Emma asked impatiently.

"To show the Dark Swan what dark magic _really_ looks like," Regina answered, summoning a ball of fire in her hand.

"Ugh," Emma grunted, flicking her hand and causing Regina to go flying through the air. "She really pisses me off sometimes."

Mary Margaret and David ran over to help Regina, who was lying in pain on the ground.

"Anyone else?" Emma asked, unintentionally gliding slightly above the street. "No one? Bummer…"

Emma managed to land back on the ground. She held Excalibur in front of her. The sword was pretty much useless now, though it could still control her. She used her power to turn the sword to dust, and allowed its remains to fall to the ground.

She used her power to teleport over to Regina, who had woken up and was being held up by her elbows. She stood tall over the ex-Evil Queen, whom Mary Margaret and David were still crouched over.

"You know," Emma told her. "Technically, you're the reason I grew up without a family…"

Regina just stared at Emma. Mary Margaret and David said nothing.

"So, what do we remove first?" Emma asked with a smile. "Your head… or your heart…"

Just as Emma pulled back her hand to pull Regina's heart of her chest, Emma heard a voice from behind her.

"Mom," Henry's shaky voice came. "Please don't make me do this."

Emma turned around to her son and was about to make a snarky response, but no words would come out of her mouth when she saw him. Henry was now standing behind her, where she was standing moments ago, holding the Author's pen and piece of paper.

* * *

 _ **Author's Notes:**_ _ **Hey guys! Well, here we are: the big battle! I don't know about you, but I really wanted to see the Dark Swan with these massive, black swan wings on the show, even if it was just for a few moments in the Enchanted Forest or something, so I figured I'd work them into my story. Anyway, the next chapter will be up tomorrow, I think (Monday at the latest) and, trust me, you're not gonna wanna miss it!**_


	16. The Fall of the Dark Swan? (Part II)

**CHAPTER SIXTEEN: The Fall of the Dark Swan? – Part II**

 **MAIN STREET, STORYBROOKE – MOMENTS AGO**

 **HENRY'S POV**

"Go on," Henry heard the spirit of his grandfather say. "It's time."

Henry felt powerless as he was forced to watch his mother kill the King of Camelot with his own sword. He closed his eyes when she drove Excalibur through his chest, and chose not to open them again.

"Henry," Emma's soft voice called to him.

Henry opened his eyes to see that he was no longer on Main Street, but in a forest. The forest looked familiar, but Henry could not remember where he had seen it before, perhaps he'd seen it in Camelot. The tall trees protected them from the bright sun that peered through the many branches of the trees.

At first, Henry was confused, and that confusion only grew as he turned to see Killian standing next to him. Henry had seen him appear before but, like his mother, he believed that he was just a trick.

"Killian?" Henry asked.

Killian turned his attention to Henry, slightly startled by his presence. "Aye, lad," he said. "It's me."

Henry, without really thinking, rushed forward and wrapped his arms around Killian's waist, enveloping him in a hug that Killian quickly returned. He reluctantly pulled away, and looked up at Killian. He was about to say something, but heard something move next to him.

"It's my boys," Emma's voice came.

Both Killian and Henry looked over to see Emma, not the Dark Swan, but Emma. She was wearing her usual clothes, complete with her red leather jacket, and her golden hair hung freely over her shoulders. She was giving them both a weak smile, and her eyes were gleaming with tears.

Henry rushed over and gave his mother a hug, relieved to see her okay. Killian also came over and joined their hug.

"What's happening, love?" Killian asked, pulling out of the hug, but still holding onto Emma. "Where are we?"

"This forest has acted as home for all the light magic for centuries," Emma explained. "But, because I have destroyed that light magic, it'll soon be destroyed, so I don't have much time. I have pulled your spirits out of your bodies and brought you here to tell you both something important."

"What is it, mom?" Henry asked with concern.

"I may have been able to escape the darkness for a few moments to bring you both here, but I won't be able to escape it anymore," Emma answered. "There were moments when I first gave into it where Henry could pull me back for a few moments but now, I'm afraid there's no saving me. The darkness will gain its complete control over me soon, and I'm not going to be able to stop it anymore."

"Then, what's this about?" Killian asked curiously.

"I need you two to do something for me. Something that only you two can do, even though I know it'll be hard on you. Do you trust me?"

"Of course we do," Henry said, nodding to Killian, who returned his nod.

"Good," Emma said, waving her hand. Henry and Killian shared a quick look of confusion before Emma gave her explanation. "Killian? Do you remember when you were in the Underworld, and the Author's pen called out to you?"

Killian eyes widened in shock, obvious wondering how she could possibly know that, before he nodded. "Aye, love, I do."

"Well, that was me," Emma said. "I managed to escape the darkness for a short moment and use the power I obtained from Merlin to have it call out to you. I knew you were in the Underworld the instant Rumple's spirit denied it. I just needed to hope that you'd be able to find it."

"Hold on… That was you?" Killian asked, partially stunned. "Why?"

"I'm getting there," Emma continued, bending down to Henry's level. "Now, Henry, listen closely. When you return to your body, you'll be holding the Author's pen. I've sent it from Killian's pocket to your hand. There will also be a piece of paper with a drop of my blood on it in your hand. Fortunately, Excalibur isn't strong enough to destroy the magic that the Author's pen has, but you will have to use it quickly."

"Use it for what?" Henry asked.

Emma took a breath and a tear fell from her eye. "I need you to use the pen and banish me somewhere where I can't hurt anyone."

Henry and Killian gaped at her for a moment, and Emma looked away.

"No," Henry said after a moment. "There has to be another way."

"There isn't, kid," Emma said with a weak smile. "This is what has to happen. I'm not strong enough to stop the darkness, so I need you two to be strong for me."

"Emma, no please—" Killian began.

"I wish there was another way, but there isn't," Emma interrupted, standing up straight again.

She put her hand on Killian's cheek. The tears were streaming down her face now, and Henry could see tears forming in Killian's eyes too.

"I know you'll take care of Henry for me, Killian. You two can move into that house, and start a future together. As a family."

"But, mom…" Henry said, looking for another way. "I-I can use the pen to write the darkness out of you."

"I know, Henry," Emma said, shaking her head. "But you can't destroy darkness like this, not with your pen. If you attempt to write the darkness out of me, it will only be untethered from my spirit, and roam freely around Storybrooke, destroying everything in its wake. I don't want that for everyone, even if it means I'll be spared. That's why I'm willing to make this sacrifice."

"But, mom," Henry said, after a while. "What about light magic? Has it been destroyed for good?"

"Thankfully, no," Emma told him, glad that he had tried to change the subject. "My plan was to snuff out the light, meaning that it can be reignited once again, though it will take a while for it to return to the strength that it originally carried. Love, hope, and belief are a great help."

"We can try to reason with you," Killian said with a shaky voice. "We can try to get you back."

Emma sighed. "You can try, but it's no use. I'm already too far gone… I wasn't able to keep my promise to you, Killian, but now I'm going to trust that you'll keep this promise to me: promise me you'll both be happy, that you'll protect my family."

"But I just got back to you… I can't just… I…" Killian began, and looked to Henry, who had tears in his eyes. Henry gave Killian a weak nod, and Killian knew it was no use. "I promise."

Emma smiled with relief and a few more tears fell. "I love you, kid," she said as she bent down again to envelop Henry in a tight hug. "I love you so much, and I want you to be happy." She pulled out of the hug. "I also need you to say sorry to my parents for me too, okay? I… I can't face them right now, not after what I've done, but I need them to know I love them."

"I will, I promise," Henry managed to say through his tears. "I love you too, mom."

"Also, Henry," Emma added, pulling out of the hug, and reaching into her pocket. "Give this to Regina."

Henry stared at the Apprentice's wand that his mother was holding out in front of her.

"I've used my power to charge it so that Regina can use it to get everyone who belongs there back to Camelot," Emma told him.

Emma smiled at him and stood up straight again. She looked at Killian, who was still fighting tears in his eyes.

"I… I don't want to lose you," he said to Emma as he enveloped her in another hug.

"And I don't want to lose you," Emma said through her tears. "But I need you to be strong for Henry, and for me."

"I love you," Killian said, his voice breaking as tears began to fall out of his eyes. He pulled out of the hug, and captured her lips in a quick kiss that he poured all his love for her into. "Bloody hell, I don't think words even begin to describe how much I love you."

Emma smiled weakly at him. "I love you too. There were so many times I should have told you but I was too scared, and I want to make sure you know now, Killian. I love you... so much." She put her hand on Henry's shoulder. "I love you both with all my heart."

Before Henry could say anything else, the trees around them began to melt into some kind of dark, sticky liquid as the forest collapsed into a puddle of darkness. It began to crawl all over the ground like a swarm of insects as it closed in on the three of them.

"Mom—" Henry began.

"Don't say goodbye," Emma said, unable to control the tears pouring out of her eyes.

She took Henry's hand in right hand, and Killian's good one in her left. Henry cradled her hand close to his heart, and Killian placed a long kiss on it.

Henry closed his eyes as the darkness began to envelop them, and only opened them again when he couldn't hear the darkness anymore, and found himself back on Main Street, with his mother, back in her Dark Swan attire, pulling Excalibur out of Arthur. Henry didn't even care to wonder how no time had passed.

Henry looked down and found, in his two hands, just what his mother had told him would be there: the Author's pen, a piece of paper, and a drop of her blood. Henry did as his mother had asked, and dipped the pen into the blood and absorbed all of it into the pen's tip.

Henry looked over to Killian, who had also turned his attention over to him. Henry began to make his way over to him as his mother began to speak to the Dark Ones beside her. Henry froze when she raised the sword again to absorb the darkness from them, and closed his eyes as she plunged the sword through Zelena's chest.

He was close to tears, and he knew it, but he had to get over to Killian. He was halfway to the pirate when the Dark Swan threw her arms out and grew wings on her back.

"How…?" Henry heard Mary Margaret ask in pure astonishment.

Emma explained how she used the sword to become the most powerful Dark One ever, but Killian still tried to reason with her.

"Emma, please," Killian said, making Emma's head turn towards him. "Let us help you. There's nothing you can't come back from. You taught us all that."

Henry winced again as his mother snarled at him, and looked away.

"Well, now that I've succeeded," he heard her say. "I have no need for these anymore." Henry looked down as a dreamcatcher appeared in his free hand. "You can have these back."

Without really thinking, he held the dreamcatcher up to his head and closed his eyes as his lost memories began to flood back to him. He remembers walking into King Arthur's castle, the ball in the castle, meeting Violet…

 _I'm Violet,_ Henry remembers her saying as the two of them listened to 'Only You' with Henry's new iPod and earphones.

 _Henry,_ he told her, taking her hand and shaking, trying his best to ignore the tingling he felt under his skin at the touch of her shaking his hand.

…taking his mother to the stables, going riding with Violet, starting Operation: Light Swan with Killian…

 _Henry?_ Killian had said, falling back to talk him as they trekked through the woods. _If it's okay with you, I'd like to ask you something._

 _Yeah?_ Henry had replied.

Henry didn't know what to expect, but he knew Killian was awkward because he was scratching that spot behind his right ear.

 _Well, you see, mate,_ Killian explained. _Your mother and I have been together now for a while… and I'm not sure if you're aware, but I love her very much._ Henry had nodded at that. _Well, I was going to, um, ask your mother if she would—_

 _I think that'd be great!_ Henry interrupted, cutting him off.

 _Really?_ Killian asked, a little confused. _But you don't even know what I was going to say…_

 _I don't need you to say it. I've seen this a thousand times in the movies. So, what's the big proposal plan, then?_

Killian face flushed completely red as he gaped at Henry for a few moments. _What? Oh, well, um, I was actually thinking more along the lines of myself and her moving in together._

Henry wanted to slap himself across the face, and it certainly didn't help that he was slightly disappointed Killian's confession. _Oh… sorry. I made that super, super awkward, didn't I?_

 _A little bit, lad,_ Killian responded with a soft chuckle. _A little bit… I don't know that Emma's ready for that yet._

 _I suppose you're right. Well then, we'd best get looking for places then. The newspaper has a section on vacancies in Storybrooke._

Killian's face had lit up. _So you're okay with it?_

Henry nodded. _I just need one more thing._

 _And what's that?_

 _A name._

Killian took a moment. _Erm, Operation: Swan?_

Henry scratched his chin in consideration. _How about Operation: Light Swan?_

 _Perfect,_ Killian had agreed, putting a hand on Henry's shoulder.

The memories continued to flood through his head. Freeing Merlin from the tree, being forced to stay behind in Granny's while everyone else went to retrieve Excalibur, telling Emma about Operation: Light Swan in an effort to motivate her, even Killian telling him about how they escaped Arthur's capture in the Caledonian Forest.

Then, those tragic moments where Killian fell to the floor of Granny's, Emma desperate to save him; Emma returning with Killian's lifeless body; her crushing Merlin's heart to enact the curse…

Henry was stopped from continuing through his memories as he saw Merida draw back her bow and let an arrow fly towards Emma. Everyone gasped as the arrow hit her wing and fell to the ground in pieces.

Henry tried to ignore what was happening, and finally reached Killian.

"Killian?" Henry asked, whispering slightly. "What do we do?"

Killian tried to give Henry a weak smile, and took a moment before responding. "As much as I don't want to, we should follow through on your mother's wishes. We promised."

"I know…" Henry told him, amazed at how Killian was able to stay strong for the two of them. "I just… I can't do it. I can't banish my own mom to an uncertain fate."

"I know how you feel, mate, and I truly don't want to let her go," Killian told him. "She has brought light into my rather dark life, and I owe much more to her than I can ever pay. But your mother has made the decision to make this sacrifice, and I'm sure you know how adamant your mother is about her decisions. I made a promise to her that I intend to keep, and I—"

Killian was cut off by Emma launching Regina through the air. Henry looked up at him, and saw the love Henry had for Emma in his eyes also. Henry knew how hard this was for him, for the both of them.

"This is the only way, isn't it?" Henry asked after a moment.

Killian only looked towards the floor in sorrow. Henry had believed that Emma could be reasoned with, but if neither him or Killian could do so, then no one could. This was the only way, and Emma threatening to kill his other mother only forced Henry to make up his mind quicker.

So, he stepped forward until he was behind Emma, who was standing over Regina, held up the Author's pen and paper, and called on all his strength.

"Mom," Henry managed. "Please don't make me do this."

Emma turned to him with a snarky look on her face, though it disappeared as soon as she saw him with the pen.

"Wh-where did you get that?" Emma asked him, her whole body—including her wings—tensing up.

"An old friend gave it to me, complete with her blood," Henry told her. "And I'm not afraid to use it."

At his last words, Emma laughed. "Kid, please, you reek of fear. I can smell it from here. You're not going to use that pen."

Emma turned to Regina once more, and Henry had no choice. It was now or never. He held the page up so that he could write on it, and fulfilled his mother's final wish.

" _And, with Zelena and Arthur's sacrifices at her hands, the Dark One was banished from this world."_

* * *

 _ **Author's Notes:**_ _ **Hey guys! Well, what did you guys think? Is this the end of the Dark Swan? It really was getting to the point where there was no redemption for the Dark Swan, especially after she killed Arthur and Zelena.**_

 _ **Also, just in case it was a little vague, Emma used Excalibur to move all the darkness from the Dark Ones into herself, like Gold did on the show.**_

 _ **Sorry if the chapter got a little emotional around the midde. I couldn't help but go kind of overboard with the goodbye part… Anyway, the next chapter will deal with the aftermath of Henry's actions here, and what it means for the whole of Storybrooke.**_


	17. Think Happy Thoughts

**CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: Think Happy Thoughts**

 **MAIN STREET, STORYBROOKE – PRESENT TIME**

Emma had whipped back around to him just as he had begun speaking aloud what he was writing, and raised her hand in an attempt to stop him, but Killian placed himself between her and Henry. Emma faltered for a slight moment before summoning a flame in her hand, but it was too late. Henry added the full stop to the sentence, and the page began to glow. Henry looked up as the flame disappeared from her hand, and blue magic began to freeze her in place. Squid ink.

"No…" Emma uttered.

Before anyone could say anything else, a portal opened underneath her, and her immobilized body fell straight through it. The portal disappeared with her almost as fast as it had appeared.

Everyone stared at the spot where Emma had stood moments ago. No one spoke. Henry couldn't help it. He broke down crying, falling to the ground. It wasn't a moment later that a pair of strong arms—Killian's arms—were helping him up, trying to soothe him. They clung to each other for comfort and solace, like parent and child.

Finally, Regina stood and approached the now-lifeless body of her sister. Her baby girl that Emma had placed on her lap when she was finished with it lay squirming on her lap. Regina carefully picked it up, and walked back over to Robin, who was still in shock over what had happened. They also wrapped each other in a hug, both of them cradling the baby.

After a few moments of hugging, David and Mary Margaret, and everyone else, approached Killian and Henry, staring in awe at both Killian and Henry. Mary Margaret approached Killian and reached out to touch his arm.

"You're okay," Mary Margaret stated, almost like a question, before pulling him into a hug.

"How did you get that pen, Henry?" Mary Margaret asked, pulling out of the hug and looking at Henry. She then turned her attention to Killian. "And how are you even here, Killian?"

"It's a long story," Killian told them, looking at Henry. "It might take a while…"

"We need to hear everything," Mary Margaret told him.

So, Killian and Henry told them. Killian told them about the Underworld, about Meg and Herc (whom he noticed Mary Margaret's face redden at the mention of) and Milah and Liam, about the Author's pen calling to him, about killing Hades, about meeting Zeus, and Henry told them about Emma's message to the two of them.

"She said…" Henry began. "She told me to tell you that she's sorry, and that she loves you guys."

Mary Margaret looked away, obviously hurt that her daughter didn't tell them herself.

"She wouldn't have been able to do it, you know," Henry told her reassuringly, making Mary Margaret look back at him. "She wouldn't have been able to say goodbye to you guys one more time."

At his words, Mary Margaret smiled a weak smile, and let tears fall from her eyes.

"Where is she?" Robin asked after a while. "Do you know where she's gone?"

Suddenly, Henry began to panic. He realized that he hadn't been thinking straight at the time, and hadn't specified _where_ she was to be banished to.

"Oh, god," Henry uttered, stepping back. All the possibilities of where she could be began to flow through his head. "What if… what if I banished her to the Underworld? Or somewhere worse? Or somewhere where she can still hurt people? Or—"

"Henry," Killian interrupted, kneeling down to look up at Henry's glistening eyes. "It's okay. She's okay."

"How do you know that?" Henry said, looking away from him.

"I don't know," Killian told him, which made Henry look back at him in confusion. "I just… do."

Henry stared at him for a moment. "You're right," Henry agreed with a small smile and nod. "She's okay."

Killian returned his smile, and stood up again. David approached Killian and shook his hand firmly.

"It's good to have you back, mate," David said, emphasizing the 'mate'.

At his words, Killian let himself forget about the past few weeks and allowed himself to smile his cheeky smile for the first time in a good while.

"Devastated at my passing, were we, Dave?" Killian asked, making David's smile grow large.

"Don't push it," David said as firmly as he could through his smile.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Killian responded.

Mary Margaret and David stepped out of the way to allow other people to talk with Killian. After shaking a few hands, Belle came over and pulled Killian into a hug that shocked him a little at first. Despite their first encounter, the two had grown close, and developed quite a strong friendship.

"It's good to have you back, Killian," Belle told him.

"Aye," Killian agreed. "It's good to see you again, Belle."

Belle pulled out of the hug, and gave Henry a hug as well. She turned to walk towards David and Mary Margaret, but noticed something—someone—on the ground, and froze.

"Rumple!" she exclaimed, causing everyone to turn towards her.

She ran over to Gold's body and held him up in her arms.

"Rumple?" she asked. "Rumple, can you hear me?"

At her words, he began to awaken from his unconscious state, if only slightly.

"B-Belle?" he asked, his brow furrowed a little.

"Yes," Belle said, allowing herself to smile despite everything they'd been through. "It's me. I'm here."

He opened his mouth to say something, but instead fell back to sleep.

"It's gonna be okay," Belle told him, cradling him in her arms. "It's all gonna be okay."

* * *

 **GRAVEYARD, STORYBROOKE – TWO DAYS LATER**

Regina stood next to Henry in the graveyard as she stared at Zelena's coffin. It wasn't raining, thankfully. The sun shone bright in the sky.

Regina's thoughts drifted back to the previous day.

 _Are you sure about this?_ Mary Margaret had asked Guinevere, who had insisted that Arthur be brought back to Camelot to be buried properly.

 _Yes,_ she responded, still devastated at his passing. _It's what he would have wanted._

 _Okay,_ Regina acknowledged.

She raised the wand to open the portal back to Camelot for everyone Emma's curse had brought over, but Mary Margaret stopped her.

 _And, this time, send them the portal without the twister,_ Mary Margaret told her.

Regina had rolled her eyes and glared at Mary Margaret for a moment before continuing. _Very well._

She waved the wand and caused a door to appear on the road. Merida led the others towards the door, and walked through it after hugging Belle for helping her with her brothers. Guinevere thanked David and Mary Margaret, and led several of Arthur's soldiers holding Arthur's coffin above their heads through the portal.

 _Are you sure you don't want to take Roland back home to Sherwood Forest?_ Regina asked Robin while watching everyone walk through the portal.

Robin looked her right in the eyes and told her words that Regina will never forget. _We are home._

Robin had planted a quick kiss on Regina's lips before scooping Roland up in his arms and returning to Granny's.

"Though she wasn't the best of sisters," Regina said to Robin after pulling herself away from her memories. "She still never even got to name her daughter."

"How about something like…" Robin said to her, confusing Regina. "Eleanor. Eleanor Zelena Hood. Ellie for short."

Regina stared in wonder at Robin, who had at least partially forgiven her sister for everything she'd put them through.

"I love it," she said, looking back to the coffin.

Henry stood next to Killian, Mary Margaret, David, and Belle. While they did grieve the loss of Zelena, they couldn't get their minds of Emma, and where she might be. While Henry still had moments where he believed Emma could be somewhere in pain, Killian would make sure that he stopped thinking like that.

Henry and Killian had visited Emma's house yesterday. It would take a while for them to both be ready to move in there together, but Henry was trying his best to look to the future. He still had Regina, he still had his grandparents (including Gold, who was still unconscious in hospital), and now he had Killian. Henry was slowly but surely accepting Killian into the family with open arms.

"You alright, lad?" Killian's soft voice came.

"Yeah, I'm good," Henry told him. "It's been a rough few days."

"You can say that again," Mary Margaret said with a weak laugh. "I hope we _never_ again have a day like today, or any day these past weeks."

David chuckled at that. "Me too."

"Well, what do say, Henry?" Killian asked him. "Ready to go home?"

Henry smiled at him, and the two walked out of the cemetery, with Killian's arm around Henry. They both wore smiles on their faces, but deep down, they were asking themselves the same question.

 _Where's Emma?_

* * *

 **THE DARK ONE'S CELL, THE ENCHANTED FOREST – FOUR WEEKS LATER**

 **THE DARK SWAN'S POV**

Emma sat on her perch high above the floor of her cell. The moonlight shone through the slit windows. The moonlight reflected off of her black wings, which had encased her in a cocoon of sorts. The entire jail had been protected by the Author's magic. Emma, despite all her power, was not able to escape.

Her wings weren't soundproof, and she snapped back to attention when she heard the door to the jail being opened. Opening her wings up also made the sound of water dripping that had been driving her completely insane fill her ears again, and she snarled. She had killed the last guard that was meant to keep an eye on her; snapped his neck while practicing her magic, though she soon discovered that using magic as dangerous as that would result in her being paralyzed by squid ink. There was no doubt about it: Emma Swan enjoyed toying with her victims. She'd probably kill this guy too. No… she'd _definitely_ kill this guy too. He had no idea who she was, or what she was capable of.

 _How the hell are there even still people in the Enchanted Forest to keep an eye of me?_ Emma wondered to herself. _There have been, like, three different curses…_

Emma was pulled from her thoughts as she saw the flame from his torch light up the floor of her cage. He peered in, searching for her. She heard him slot the torch into the holster on the wall. Moments later, she saw him push her meal on a wooden tray underneath the door and onto the floor of her cell.

"Here's your supper," the man said.

Emma licked her lips at his pure innocence. He said it as though he were feeding a baby. She stood up from her perch and extended her wings outwards, preparing to pounce.

"Come get it."

And with that, Emma dove down to the floor of the cage and grabbed the man's arm, pulling him towards the spiked door of the cage. His resistance was futile. She was too strong for him to escape her.

"Let me go!" he demanded.

He peered through the cage door trying to see her face behind the spiked bars and darkness. Emma loved the sound of fear and desperation in his voice, his rapid breathing pattern. She hadn't felt such pleasure since she drove Excalibur through Zelena's chest.

"Who are you?"

Emma leaned forward, still gripping tightly onto his arm, so that he could see her scaly skin and large, crocodile eyes, which had returned thanks to her banishment back to the Enchanted Forest. She flapped her wings as well, causing his cloak to blow in the gust of wind it created.

"My name is… Emma."

He stared in pure shock at her for a few moments before responding, full of fear. "You really _are_ a monster…"

"On the inside and out, dearie," Emma told him, smiling and tilting her head.

She reached into his chest and felt around for his still-beating heart, thoroughly enjoying the gasp of pain that escaped the man's mouth. She then pulled it out of his chest, causing him to fall to the floor in agony.

Emma stared at the heart for a while. She had always been intrigued by hearts, and hadn't held one in her hands for so long now. Emma couldn't even remember the last time. Was it Killian's heart in the back of Granny's? Or was it Merlin's to enact the curse? Emma's memories had become quite all over the place. Isolation and insanity will do that to you, no matter how powerful you are. She considered herself lucky that at least Rumple's spirit wasn't there taunting her.

She closed her eyes and squeezed on the heart, crushing it until it became dust in her right hand. She let the dust linger for a few moments before allowing it to slip through her ringed fingers. She snarled at the man on the ground who closed his eyes and stopped breathing.

Emma put both her hands on the bars or the cell door and stared at the door to the jail, willing it to open. Her wings moved violently behind her, almost as though they had mind of their own. Though Emma's magic was severely dampened in here, Emma still managed to finally open the jail door with a satisfying 'click'. For some reason, the squid ink didn't paralyze her. It would only be a matter of time before she was strong enough (or the magic holding her there was weak enough) to open the door to her cell and make her escape.

"Soon," she promised herself.

Then, she released the bars, and flew up to her perch once more. She closed her large wings around her, into their previous cocoon shape, and closed her eyes. She held out her hand and was able to spark a silver fireball in her hand, though it burned out almost as fast as it had appeared as squid ink began to immobilize her once again for using magic like this. However, she opened her eyes and began to laugh.

Emma Swan continued laughing long after the moon had gone down, and long after the sun had come up.

* * *

 _ **Author's Notes:**_ _ **Hey guys! Well, what did you think? I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**_

 _ **I really wanted to include footage of the Dark Swan from that trailer we saw at San Diego Comic Con last year, though I had to change it around a little bit. It was so good, and got me extremely hyped for the whole series. We also got to see everyone's reactions to the devastating finale, which I hope you enjoyed. I also named Baby Hood something different because, well, this whole trend on the show of naming babies after dead characters (Henry, Neal, Robyn) NEEDS to stop.**_

 _ **I have a basic outline for where the story is going to go from here, but I'm not too sure just yet. What I can promise is that, when it comes back, there will be lots of Snowing and Rumbelle (because I think there are some people who could use a little Rumbelle fluff after all they're going through on the show), some OutlawQueen, and maybe I can try a little VioletBeliever… There will also be lots of CaptainBook (because I legit live for those two), and, who knows? Maybe we'll even see some CaptainSwan (hopefully). I don't know that we'll see Merida or Arthur or Guinevere or anyone else from Camelot again, but death couldn't keep Zelena off the show, so I suppose it's a possibility that she could come back somehow...**_

 _ **Anyway, I'm going to take a little break from the story now. I don't know how long it'll take, but it'll be better than ever when it comes back again, hopefully. If you guys would like to, you could follow the story to be notified when I update it again. I'd also appreciate any thoughts or ideas you guys have that you could post in the reviews section, or you could PM me.**_


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